The Hunt in Cephiro
by Pete the Rock
Summary: Ash and Team Rocket travel to Cephiro where Hikaru is searching for her friends while ancient demons from different countries wreak havoc.
1. A Dream, Sign of Rule

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or Magical Knight Rayearth

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Summary: Ash and Team Rocket travel to Cephiro where Hikaru is searching for her friends while demons from different countries wreak havoc. Ash/Hikaru

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_**The Hunt in Cephiro**_

_Chapter 1: A Dream, Sign of Rule

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_(Dream)_

_Pitch Black. Nothing to see for eternity. A young raven-black-haired man in a black t-shirt with a yellow stripe along the rib-line and jeans looked around frantically. "Help us!" A female voice echoed out. The young man twisted around, searching for the sound._

"_Please, help us!" Another girl's voice pleaded for help. The young one heard the voices but with the area showing nothing and the echoes bouncing off invisible walls, it was impossible to determine where the cries for help came from. All the youngster could do was try to see if he could establish communication._

"_I can hear you!" he shouted, hoping to let whoever was calling for help to know that help was on the way. "Where are you?" This should aid these mysterious girls in their time of need. However, it didn't work._

"_Help! Get me outta here!" the first female kept screaming._

"_Release us!" the second one continued to ask for mercy. It was a bit of a setback for the youngster._

"_Why can't they hear me?" he growled at himself. It didn't help that he was joined by two adults in white uniforms with red "R's" on their chests and black arm-length gloves and boots. One was a woman with blood red hair slicked back to appear like a wave, donned in a mid-drift shirt and skirt. The other was a male with a basic schoolboy's cut with a not-so-basic blue hair color, dressed with a long-sleeved shirt and pants. The youngster turned to the two who were staring into space...considering that there was nothing to actually stare at. "Anything?" The two saw the younger one, shaking their heads in denial._

"_We've looked around," the redhead explained. "Those demons have kept us on the run so we couldn't get any clearance to land and search." The younger one acknowledged the frustration levels that the two were elevating. The blue-haired one took note of the sweat flooding the young male's face, worried that he may collapse in exhaustion._

"_We need to relax and come up with a strategy," he suggested. "You look ready to pass out." The younger male knew the concern that the older one was pointing out. Nevertheless, he turned to the emptiness, seeking out the mysterious cries for aid._

"_Save us, please!" the girls continued to shout. He wanted to help these girls, hard enough to hear their voices coming from all directions. His heart was set._

"_I can't rest easy and allow those cries to go unattended," the younger one growled to the issue at hand. Before the three could advance, there was a light. The three shielded their eyes, staving off blindness. They got a chance to see when the light dimmed. Inside the light, a young blond girl was praying. The three were awe-stricken with such a sight._

"_A great tragedy will befall the allies that help you rescue the magical knights," she prophesied. The younger one was befuddled with what she had said. What great tragedy did she mean? He turned to the two adults...down and drowning in a pool of blood. Startled, the young man slipped into the blood, staining himself. He recovered his feet, struggling over to the downed two._

"_Jessie!" he shouted as he shook the redhead, her hair being redder by the second. The shaking did nothing. She wasn't responding. The youngster then turned to the other male, shaking him as well. "James, get up!" Nothing. Neither one was stirring. He had taken note of the amount of blood that continued to flood the place. He turned both of them over, seeing their eyes. The pupils were rolled into their skulls and their throats all gashed up. This was bad. "This...this can't be!" Both of them had no life. They were killed...but by his hands? In a snap, he turned to the blond, indifferent to the lifeless bodies which continued to float on the shallow pool. "What did you do to them?!" The blond showed no reaction and disappeared into the darkness, a cowardly way to retreat. "Hey!" Suddenly, blasts of wind started to push the young man back a little as he tried to fight through this windstorm. The two dead bodies and the pool were blown clean. As he tried to fight it, four tornadoes emerged. Each tornado had a color each: red, blue, green and yellow. These tornadoes were more than just serious windstorms, because glowing eyes beamed down to the youngster. Were these the demons the late two were mentioning? The boy began to panic. One young man versus four entities that remained shrouded in the swirling colored winds. There was nothing he could do to save himself. Before the entities charged, another voice echoed..._

"_Ash, wake up!" a young female called out of nowhere. The youngster didn't respond to the new calling but the entities began to move at the last human, going in for the final kill. All the youngster could do was let the inevitable happen._

"_AH!"

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_

_(Reality)_

Hands were frantically shaking the young man on the chest, trying to pry him from a nightmare he may have been experiencing. "Ash!" the same young woman pleaded. "Open your eyes!" He feigned the shakes when he suddenly snapped up...KABONG! Colliding heads with a raven-haired boy. Bet that had to sting. Both males rubbed their foreheads, easing the pain from that blooper. A redhead female giggled at the mishap, understandably relieved and watching the hilarity unfold. She was gowned in a yellow tracksuit with a reddish-orange midsection. Her hair was in a short ponytail that was sticking up sideways. "Now that's comedy." Sure, she was finding that scene funny but not to the hard heads.

"I've heard of meeting of the minds, but I didn't think pain was involved," the younger boy cringed from the physical headache. He wore glasses and a green polo t-shirt along with beige shorts. The older male was interested to know why the younger one was straddling on top of him.

"Max, what are you doing on me?" he questioned. Max acted up a nervous sweat, not sure on why he was on the young man to begin with.

"I thought I had a good angle to help get you outta your nightmare. I wasn't thinking about you shooting at my head at 60 miles per hour." A nightmare? Was that what the young man was experiencing? He shook his head, not because of the pain he was sharing with Max.

"Nightmare?" He seemed clueless. He couldn't recall the dream. The female was a bit perplexed with this startling notion, choosing to remind him of the view.

"Yeah, Ash," she called his attention. "You were going like 'Hello?!' and 'Where are you?!' in such a frightened state. You were really creeping us out when you mentioned Team Rocket like something bad happened to them." It didn't seem to sink in for Ash. He scratched the back of his head, not clearly remembering who she was talking about. Suddenly, he thought of an answer to the female's attentive backtrack.

"Must have been panic." Max gave a soft chuckle. He sensed that the nightmare may have triggered something unnatural of Ash to spurt out Team Rocket in fear.

"Makes sense," Max huffed with a smile as he dismounted the bed. "Nightmares can do that to you. Still, why Team Rocket?" Unsure of himself, Ash shrugged his shoulders. That's when something clicked in his head. It may have been related to the nightmare and the discussion.

"Come to think of it, there was this girl who was in this ball of light who said that a great tragedy will happen. It may be why I had mentioned those two." Max and the redhead didn't really want to agree with Ash's hypothesis. It was outrageously farfetched for Ash to involve Jessie and James in such a concernedly manner.

"It would make sense if it was Pikachu or any other of your Pokémon," the redhead sighed. "Not really Team Rocket, although they've helped us a few times." This explanation made Max wonder if that was why Ash motioned the two who died from his nightmare.

"I think you may have answered Ash's confusion, Misty," he pointed. To Max, Ash was paying back Team Rocket for the times they've helped him. Misty was a tad shocked with Max's response. Billowing a heavy sigh, Ash was telling the other two to drop the subject.

"Here's what I think," he spoke up. "Breakfast. Why don't we head downstairs for some sirloin and eggs?" Max and Misty sighed. It seemed to be the only thing going through his head...and stomach. The three exited the bedroom, on their way downstairs and to the kitchen. As soon as Ash stepped off the staircase, a phone began to ring. Who could be calling this early in the day? He walked over to a phone with a monitor on the side, answering the call. "Ketchum residence. Ash speaking." The monitor turned on, showing a grayish-white haired man in a white lab coat, looking to be a senior but far from helpless.

"Ash, just the young man to call," he chirped. Ash huffed a smile, knowing who was the caller.

"Good morning, Professor Oak. What's up?"

"Well, a few things to be frank. I've evaluated Pikachu and he seems to be in the best shape since seeing him in the Silver Conference. His Iron Tail is really powerful." Ash snickered, humbled with this praise. "Another reason I'm calling is that I've got new equipment coming to my lab today. I was wondering if you could come over and help me, Prof. Birch and Tracy with remodeling the lab after breakfast." This was a doubled opportunity for Ash. He could see his Pikachu and tell the professors about the dream he discussed with Max and Misty. There was no way he would object to this moment.

"Come on, professor. You know I can't turn down an invite from you." Oak rose a confident smirk, trusting Ash to see him. Suddenly, there was a scream. Oak turned, seeing something that worried the gray-haired.

"The sooner you finish eating, the better. Your Muk has taken a liking to Birch." Ash hiccuped a bit as sweat drops of disbelief flooded over his hair. Food first, his professors next.

"Yeah, sure thing." He hung up before walking to the kitchen. A little while later, Ash, Max and Misty proceeded over to Prof. Oak's place. Ash, forgetting about that nightmare from waking up, began to ponder what new equipment the good professor had ordered. "I wonder what Prof. Oak wanted inside the lab that he's asked me to help renovate it?" Misty was a little apprehensive about Ash and what bestowed inside Oak's crib.

"Ash, it's nothing to get all infatuated over," she groaned. "You and computer equipment don't mix too well. Remember the Silver Conference on the eve of your battle with Gary?" Ash remembered what Misty had referred to. However, he came up with a counterpoint in a snap.

"I do. It was just that I was so focused on beating Gary, I wasn't thinking about anything else, especially software maintenance." The crossing of her arms was a needless way to say that Ash was fibbing.

"Right..." Max watched on, not making a peep. They arrived at a large white house with a steel gate and windmills to the side. Inside, the three walked up to a room filled with all sorts of electronic material from hard drive towers to power tools. Out of the blue, a yellow mouse rushed to Ash, happy to see him. The mouse had red circled cheeks and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt.

("Ash, you're back!") it happily cheered as it leaped into Ash's arms, who then embraced it in a hug.

"Morning, Pikachu," he greeted. "You had a good stay with the professors?" Pikachu nodded, confirming Ash's guess. That's when...

"AH!" someone yelped for assistance. The group jerked to see Oak and a young black-haired man in a red headband, turquoise t-shirt and shorts trying to pry a living pile of purple goo from a large brunette man. The bearded brunette was also in a lab coat but wearing shorts and sandals. Ash came over, Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Okay, Muk. Off of Prof. Birch." Muk grumbled in denial, wanting to stay on Birch. "We need him to help refurbish the lab. After that, you can smother him all you want." A flustered breath of dismay billowed from Birch, almost asking for mercy. Ash turned to Oak, awaiting instructions. "So, what's the game plan?" Oak spun his head to a row of toolboxes, adjacent to a wall. Over there?

"My new instrument will be over there, right where those toolboxes are," he advised. "I want to move those over to the closet so that I have room to assemble." Sounded pretty simple. Wasting no time, the youngsters had gone to work with the movement of the toolboxes. They were working for a few minutes taking the boxes to a closet. Maybe Oak didn't have a place for them...or maybe he was getting new equipment and selling those off. Ash was ready to load another toolbox onto the scoop of a trolley, feeling the burn of his muscles. He wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Man, I didn't count on these toolboxes to be heavy." He rested his hand onto the wall...only his hand had gone through the wall, nearly toppling Ash over. Stumbling back to his feet to regain balance and pulling his hand back from the wall, Ash huffed relief, but gazed at the wall that he nearly fell through. This was interesting. Why would a wall not be solid? "Professor, how long have you been in this lab?" Oak was puzzled. Why did he have this question? Before he could reply, a blast of smoke clouded the room. Everyone covered their mouths and noses, preventing any chance of inhaling the black fumes. "Don't tell me..." Sounds of laughter got the group on high guard.

"Prepare for trouble, your rest and relaxation is over," Jessie announced as the smoke cleared to let her be seen.

"Make it double, we've followed you to here from Dover," James entered his take as the smoke lifted more and more.

"An evil as old as the galaxy."

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny." That's when a small whitish cat emerged. The cat had an oval gold coin embedded on its forehead and it's tail was curled.

"Meowth, don't forget me," it, or he, chimed in a Brooklyn tone. What were they doing, a motto?

"Of course, Team Rocket has to come in and act like the idiots they are," Misty snarled, disrupting the motto of the group. The group began to steam anger, upset over the interruption.

"That's Team Rocket for you," the only other male sighed. "They come by and make fools of themselves while trying to take Pikachu." More frustration plumed out of the bad team.

"Well, excuse me if we're trying to do our job for the boss!" Jessie roared. Do your job? "It comes with the territory, even if it means dealing with Redhead Miffy here." Misty was offended, as was Ash and Max.

"Big deal if I'm a redhead!" Misty bellowed like lions. "And on top of that, the name is Misty!!" Jessie was mad, but Misty was downright furious. Team Rocket became as yellow as Pikachu from the heat Misty summoned verbally.

"Give us a break," James stuttered in fear. "We haven't seen you for awhile." Jessie snapped her nerves free, ready to cause havoc.

"Listen, Pikachu is ours and there's nothing you can do about it," she growled. Pikachu was ready to go.

("Bring it, Toots!") it gritted. Ash had to protect Pikachu, thinking back to that wall. He had a plan.

"I've got a better idea, Pikachu," he whispered. Pikachu was wondering what his partner had plotted. Jessie wasn't going to wait for Ash's move as she drew a red/white ball and tossed it.

"Seviper, Haze!" she summoned with her ball opening. A light jumped out of the split ball then into a large snake with a dagger-like blade at the tail. The forest green body was crooked in a zigzag pattern as the head was gold plated between its red eyes. Following Jessie's instructions, the snake coughed a huge plume of toxic smoke, prompting everyone to cover their heads to avoid choking.

'Perfect.' He leaped back to the false wall. Team Rocket raced in to snag Pikachu. Misty knew of a way to clear this smoke.

"Tracy, get Scyther!" she suggested with the smoke nearly bleeding into her mouth. The unknown male heard Misty, grabbing a ball of his own and tossing it.

"Scyther, Swords Dance!" he called upon as he tossed his ball. The ball and light behaved like Jessie's, except that a giant green mantis-like creature emerged. The Scyther had huge blades for arms. Those blades were crossed toward his chest and began to spin. Scyther spun so fast, it created a vortex of wind, gathering the hazing smoke into one area and blowing it out to the harmless air outside. Everyone was able to look again. That's when they noticed a problem. Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket were gone. Panic!

"Ash?!" Misty called. "Ash!" No response. Everyone scanned the area, not a sign of Ash or the Rocket people.

"Did Team Rocket capture them?" Max feared. Tracy saw a hot air balloon with Meowth's head as the balloon fabric.

"No, Team Rocket's balloon's still out there," he clarified. No one had a clue of where the missing were. Ash had a plan. Did he execute it? Did Team Rocket capture them and sneaked away in another vehicle? Team Rocket...they were knocked out. For a moment, there was no movement, not even from Meowth. Jessie began to perk open her eyes, pretty disoriented from whatever the heck happened. Her dizzying eyes saw tall trees and a shady gray above.

"What a fall," she moaned in some pain. "I could've sworn that the twerp knew I would use Haze. That kid's smarted than I anticipated." That sounded like a compliment. "Maybe this job isn't worth all the blowups that we endured." In a sense of tease, Ash popped up. He did look a tad worried about Jessie's condition.

"Still need a few to clear the cobwebs?" he asked. Stunningly, Jessie didn't flinch seeing Ash over her.

"A good minute should help me." That's when she noticed that it was someone she knew...but not liked. Okay, good minute's done. She leaped onto her feet and stared down Ash in a fighting stance. "Twerp!" Ash didn't react, and James and Meowth were standing by him. Was this a mutiny?

"Jessie, calm down," her human teammate ordered her. "Our blimp isn't around here. Besides, I think the twerp played us for fools." Jessie lowered her stance, straightening out and wondering herself on what happened.

"You said it yourself, Jessie," Meowth defended James. "The kid's pretty intelligent when the chips are down." Jessie looked befuddled. Did she actually say that about Ash? She began to peer the surrounding more. Trees, trees everywhere and not a house in sight.

"Are we in a forest?" she questioned. It appeared to be.

"Sure looks like it," Ash replied. "Yet, there's something weird about it. I tried to release Swellow, but my Pokéball wouldn't open." That could be a problem.

"Not to mention that Pikachu's electric sacs aren't working properly," Meowth added. Jessie shook her head in denial. This couldn't be happening to her.

"Great," she groaned. "This would be the picture perfect opportunity for Team Rocket to take Pikachu if not for the missing balloon." You've got to hate that. "So, anyone have a plan on getting outta this forest?" Ash gazed at one direction, making the others think he had a plan.

"Well, Pikachu said that he heard noises coming from that direction," he observed. "Let's go that way and see of we can find something to help us know where we are." Good idea. However, James had doubts about Ash's plan. Was it past experience?

"I don't know," he mumbled. Ash was interested to know what the denial was. "That redheaded friend of yours mentioned that you've got some of the worst navigating skills amongst your travels." Ash mulled. James was right. He quickly snapped around and looked at James.

"This is why Pikachu's leading us. Along the way, I'll try to tell you of the nightmare that I had, since you were in it." Team Rocket was a bit fascinated with the announcement of a nightmare, but none more than Jessie who had this wild guess.

"Let me guess," she wickedly sneered. "You dreamed that we had tied you up over a volcano, butt naked, while we escape with Pikachu and watch the lava eat you alive?" Wow. What kind of world did Jessie reside in? The boys, needless to say, were shocked. Her tone made it sound like there was no way Jessie and Ash would cooperate together.

"I highly doubt that's it," Meowth muttered. Quite simply, her idea rattled the nerves of the others.

"Jessie, in my nightmare, you and James die," Ash admitted. That made Jessie stop her smile...and into panic. Getting a feeling of what death sounded like, she crouched into a fetal position, scared. She and James bit it in Ash's bad dream. Pikachu led the walk with the other boys close behind. Jessie? She remained in the back. "I was hearing calls for help. There were young women screaming for me to help them, but I...we were surrounded in darkness." That part of the dream recalled, James went into deep thinking.

"I highly doubt it's the lady twerps that have been with you," he pondered.

"Yeah, I know it wasn't Misty or May."

"Perhaps it might have been that schoolgirl in that one academy, or maybe that maiden on Shamouti Isle. What about that professor's girl in Greenfield, or any of the few Gym Leaders? Or the shihon's granddaughter? Maybe that one young archeologist in the Keri Keri Mountains?" If you thought Ash was astonished with all the ladies that James partially mentioned, Pikachu's mouth hanging down below the master's arm and Meowth's jaw dragging the dirt expressed the amazement they had for the shy man.

"How do you keep track of the twerp's female encounters?" Meowth awed.

("I'm surprised that you've known who Ash ran into during our travels,") Pikachu added in shock. James snicked, humbled that his knowledge of Ash's past left a mark upon the Pokémon.

"Just because our mission involves Pikachu, I've watched your close encounters with the opposite sex and compared your behavior to that breeding friend of yours." Aside from his job, James payed close attention to the moves Ash made with other women. In hindsight, Ash maintained composure.

"What's next I hear?" he chuckled. "Jessie hunting me down because she admires my training?" He laughed at how ridiculous it sounded. Jessie didn't see the same humor.

"Like I care about someone's training methods!" she snapped. She slouched to a pout, not trusting what she was hearing. "Besides, why would I fall for someone like him? I'd rather have an affair in the office over appreciating a trainer who thinks coexisting with Pokémon would benefit each others' lives." What was she talking about? Ignoring Jessie, the group proceeded on, Pikachu in the lead. That's when the trees stopped popping up. The forest had ended. "Glad to get out of the woods." That no one argued. About two hours had elapsed since Ash and Team Rocket "filed a truce" when they arrived at a small village. The houses appeared to be made of stone and straw and the ragged clothes on the people made Ash, Jessie, James and the creatures feel like they stepped into "The Twilight Zone."

"So, this is what happened to us by stepping through the wall of the professor's home," Meowth viewed. "We happened to go through some sort of time rift." A rift? Some of the parents saw the new arrivals, fearing what they may have brought from where they originated from and rustling their kids inside. Ash frowned with the parents' quick actions.

"Makes a bit of sense," he murmured. "We are outsiders." Pikachu agreed. Ash looked up, hoping that the way back home was close. That's when he saw someone floating in the sky. There was a raven-black haired woman in a dark red one-piece spandex suit with oversize shoulder guards and leg-long high-heeled boots. There was a lavender sphere that was worn like a tiara with the outer part containing wing decorations. She held a staff out at the newcomers, her eyes looking like there's no consciousness in it.

"That is as far as you go, allies of the magical knights," she bellowed. Team Rocket saw the same woman, trying to figure out what she said. Allies of the magical knights? Ash and Team Rocket were in trouble. Could they defeat this hostile opponent in a place unfamiliar to them?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. Fire, a Savior's Aid

_Chapter 2: Fire, A Savior's Aid

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A tense situation began to unfold. Ash, Pikachu, Jessie, James and Meowth found themselves in the cross-hairs of raven-haired woman gowned in such revealing garbs, already accusing them of being allies of some magical knights. This whole scenario became a crazy series of events beginning with Ash's nightmare when he dreamed that he witnessed Jessie and James with their throats sliced open and lying in a bloody shallow flood, only to be met with a plethora of entities shrouded in a rainbow of tornadoes. Then, Ash found some sort of anomaly with a wall at Prof. Oak's laboratory. Using that wall, he baited the other unwilling travelers into the wall, only to find themselves in a forest where Ash couldn't release a Swellow or that Pikachu couldn't produce electricity. Now, after making their way passed the trees, this had to come. Jessie began to wonder what this lady meant by allies when neither one had seen other people than those in the village. "Allies of who now?" she wondered. Ash kept his eyes on the woman's eyes, noticing that her eyes showed no will of her own.

"Jessie, I think someone or something's controlling her," he whispered as he pointed to woman's head. Jessie peered into the woman's eyes like Ash pointed out, seeing the same unconscious pupils.

"I get it. The body's awake but the mind's asleep." That's one way to put it. "Can you take advantage of it?" One look at the supposedly controlled woman, Ash realized that she would be a tough task.

"It's worth a shot." Jessie allowed Ash to step forward, trusting what intellect and charm he had obtained. Ash and the woman gazed at each other, hoping they could meet some common ground. "Is it alright if I know who you are? That way, there's an understanding between us." The woman never twitched a muscle.

"I come as a messenger for the demon gods of Cephiro," she stated. While that was the easy part, Ash had to wonder the new setting's name, Cephiro. Was it also the same with the forest?

"Cephiro?" James repeated. "I don't think we're in the Kanto Region anymore." Gee, you think, Dorothy? There was more than the task for the woman besides explaining some message.

"Other than being the speaker of the demon gods, I'm here to eliminate the remaining magical knight and those who align with the member...such as you." She pointed her staff at Ash. This couldn't be good. Then, shards of ice formed in midair. "That last knight will come soon, but the mess is one she'll clean up. Now, die! Icicle Onslaught!" The shards, guided by a mysterious heat-seeking gadget, zipped through the sky and heading toward the three and creatures. Jessie knew that action was at hand.

"It's gonna take more than some ice to cool our hot streak," she confidently grinned. "How about we double-tail her?" Ash knew that Jessie was lying about "their" hot streak, but figured out on her idea of using the tails for something better than wagging.

"Now, you're speaking my language," he huffed. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Pikachu leaped up, his tail glowing white. Jessie opened the ball that she grabbed and released Seviper.

"Seviper, help Pikachu with your Poison Tail!" Seviper bounced into the air, that tail glowing violet. Pikachu swung the white tail. CLANK! Just enough power, the attack knocked the icicles from the air, falling harmlessly to the ground. Could Seviper duplicate the process? Swinging the purplish tail... CLANK! Seviper matched Pikachu with the icicles. Both Pokémon landed on the ground safely, celebrating with a shrill and a peace sign. It was a successful defense. "Nice work, Seviper!"

"Good job, Pikachu!" That was some attack use for protecting their masters. The messenger didn't show much expression. Heck, her staff was still pointing at the group.

"A minor setback," she murmured. "Arctic Winds!" The purple orb embedded on the staff started to glow before...BOOM! A blast of snow and winds screamed to the group. Ash dove forward, hoping to steer clear of the twister-like winds while Team Rocket just braced for the cold to hit them.

"Look out!" Meowth hollered, trying to retreat the attack. Not quite. Ash, Pikachu and Seviper escaped the velocity of the attack, but the same luck wouldn't be copied with Jessie, James and Meowth. The winds nailed Team Rocket, sending them flying into the sky.

"Just our luck that even aiding the twerp leaves us drifting in the breeze," Jessie complained. It wasn't that bad. You did prevent getting injured back there. Let's hope that you all are okay when we see you again.

"Who knew that our first impression in this Cephiro land would be of the ground type," James mentioned, talking about when they land back on earth.

"That twerp's gonna need all the heat he's got while we cool from this high," Meowth pondered. "In the meantime..." There they go, into the distant.

""Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they shouted in unison. Bye for now. Ash and the messenger, as well as Seviper and Pikachu, were squaring each other off.

"It's gonna take a lot more than cold magic to freeze us in our tracks," Ash advised. Once more, the messenger forwarded her staff at Ash, more icicles forming around her.

"The demon gods will enjoy this snack," she tried to hinder the trainer's cocky attitude. No dice. She launched more of the icy shards. The shards crashed down, creating a wall behind Ash and the Pokémon. Ash was cornered, realizing that he may have made a fatal dare to see if she would try and stop him. It seemed to work.

"Me and my big mouth." The messenger created one more icicle. This one, intended for Ash for the kill.

"I'm sorry that your stay in Cephiro was short, but eliminating those who oppose the demon gods is strict punishment." Ash couldn't get out of the way of this ice shard. He was doomed. Only a miracle could save him and Pikachu and Seviper.

"Flame Arrow!" bellowed another female from somewhere. Suddenly, the messenger turned to the voice, only to see a stream of fire zipping her way. KABOOM! The fire nailed the messenger, knocking her out of the sky, smoldering a bit from that blazing strike. Ash had to be thanking the stars for this wish to be granted. That's when, leaping from the top of the wall, a braided-ponytail redhead entered, large sword in hand. She wore a red school suit with a black skirt and a breastplate/shoulder guard, as well as white, knee-high boots. The sword had a red hilt with a dragon decor. Ash, Pikachu and Seviper became astonished with the new arrival. The messenger was still very indifferent of the new girl, stepping in for Team Rocket.

"You've finally arrived, magical knight." This knight eyed the messenger, knowing her pretty well.

"You need to wake up, Alcyone! Break away from the demons' grips!" The words bounced off and Alcyone pointed her staff at the knight.

"The Alcyone that the sage would know has long been lost. Allow me to show you...as you die!" She raced in, giving Ash an idea. He dashed forward as the staff became a lance when a piece of sharp ice accumulated on the orb. The knight saw Ash make his approach, not liking the oncoming result.

"Wait! Stay back!" No go. Ash ignored the advice. Before a long second, Ash and Alcyone met. In a flash, Ash slid, twisting his body as he clutched the lance and scraping under the older woman. With one yank, Alcyone got twirled around. Ash applied the spin with the pull, going right into phase two.

"Pikachu, wake her up!" he ordered. Pikachu raced up the knight's body and spring boarding off the shoulder guard. Now, wait. Pikachu's sacs weren't working properly when he and Team Rocket entered this world. Ash had to know something to ask Pikachu to use an electric attack. Well, Pikachu emitted a massive voltage of electricity, zapping Alcyone. After a few seconds, Pikachu rested his lightning strike, allowing Alcyone to hit the turf. She was surrounded. The wall had vanished, almost as if it was a hologram. The knight had her sword trained, making sure that Alcyone wouldn't try a sneak attack without her knowledge. That's when a groan was heard from her. She began to lift her body, still aching from that shocking counter.

"Where...am I?" she moaned. Ash came to Alcyone's side, her eyes looking more alert than before. He offered a hand to see if she needed assistance.

"Need help getting up?" Alcyone turned to Ash, not sure why a complete stranger would help her. The knight was baffled with this change in emotion from Ash. It was as if he knew Alcyone wasn't in control of herself. In denial, Alcyone rose her hand, asking for no assistance. Then, she rose herself to a standing position, though shaky in the knees. She turned to the knight as she transformed her sword into a red ball of light, placing it through a jewel embedded in her hand.

"Clef sent you to find me, Hikaru?" she wondered. The redhead, Hikaru, took a step forward, not wanting to jeopardize her safety.

"I want to know where Umi and Fuu are," she demanded answers. Alcyone feigned speaking...before she began to clutch her head, feeling a painful headache growing by the minute. Ash and Hikaru steered clear, not wanting to find out what was wrong with her or what she would unleash. That's when a vortex popped up underneath Alcyone.

"Get out of my head! Get out of my head!" The two watched as Alcyone sunk into the vortex, still screaming like a broken record. Finally, she vanished, leaving Ash and Hikaru to wonder what just happened.

"Alcyone!" Hikaru gasped. Alcyone was gone. Please leave a message at the sound of the beep. Ash saw the mounting distraught going through Hikaru. She punched the dirt in anger and frustration. "Why?!" Pikachu and Seviper couldn't make sense on what that encounter was all about. Becoming sensitive, Ash rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Getting all mad about this setback won't do any of us good," he tried to comfort. "We'll get another chance soon enough." Hikaru shot a look to Ash, still remembering the recklessness of racing in and gambling against Alcyone. Instead of acknowledging his words...POW! Hikaru lit Ash up with a slap across the cheeks. The slap on the face knocked Ash to the ground, Pikachu and Seviper, unusually, coming to his defense.

("You okay, Ash?") Pikachu asked. Ash got to his seat, rubbing the paining sting of Hikaru's slap. He realized that the slap was about his reckless action against Alcyone.

"Guess I deserved that one." He got onto his feet at the same time as the miffed redhead. You could tell with the scorn she wore.

"What were you thinking?!" she fumed. "You could've killed yourself!" Ash was a tad astonished with the reactive care that this new girl started to reveal.

"I'm sorry. My instincts took over. Surprised that it worked." Although still a bit ticked at the gamble, Hikaru understood and accepted the apology. Ash peered to the Pokémon, making Hikaru turn to them. "Besides, I did it to make sure these guys were okay." Hikaru's anger began to subside, getting a clearer picture of his actions. She was upset, but now fascinated with his admittance.

"I see. They're yours?"

"Well, Pikachu is. Seviper belongs to someone who was blown back the way we came, over there." He pointed to the forest, making Hikaru highly cautious of where they had traversed.

"You mean you came through the Forest of Silence?" Forest of Silence? That even had Seviper using its tail to scratch its head.

"A silent forest?" For Hikaru, Ash's troupe had exited from a danger zone. For Ash, the name seemed to have made some sense, considering nothing other than themselves made a sound.

"That forest is a death trap for all magicians and those who use magic. They cannot summon spells or use anything magically related, and those monsters in there could eat those unsuspecting alive." Gulp! The three others swallowed great amounts of pride, fidgeting about how they managed to escape such a dooming predicament. It made sense for Ash. Unable to release his Swellow, Pikachu's sacs not producing electricity...

"And I thought taking care of Prof. Oak's lab for a new gizmo was tough enough. Now this." Hikaru's attitude heightened when she huffed a chuckle, almost feeling mercy for the young trainer. Suddenly, cooing noises. The group spun to see a bouncing marshmallow with wing-like ears, feet and a round red gem engraved in its round body coming from the same forest. Pikachu and Seviper seemed interested with the new creature.

("That Pokémon?") Seviper wondered. Pikachu doubted his adversary's guess.

("Nothing that I know of,") it squeaked. Sure the Pokémon had no clue, but Hikaru did as the marshmallow bounced her way.

"Hey there, Mokona," she named. The puffball rested a foot away from Hikaru as Pikachu approached with interests. "Did Clef have something to say to me?" Mokona bobbed its body up and down before the jewel began to shine. Suddenly, a beam burst from the jewel, making a screen of light. Then, someone emerged from the screen. It appeared to be a lavender-haired boy with purple horns sticking out of them.

"Hikaru," he spoke. "Have you found Alcyone?" This young man sounded a lot older than he looked, yet not as old as a senior citizen. Hikaru groaned, knowing that she and Ash let Alcyone escape.

"I...We have, but the demons got to her before we made an attempt to reclaim her." That could explain the whole time of her pleading. The "boy" knew that she tried, though wondered why Hikaru mentioned "we" and not "I."

"We?" Ash stood up, willing to side with Hikaru on his teamwork.

"I tried to help Hikaru," he spoke up. "I'm Ash Ketchum, a trainer in the world of Pokémon." The "boy" was a little more dumbfounded with this news. He had to wonder what Ash was talking about.

"I would like to know about these...Pokémon when I see you back at the crystal palace," he plotted. "As Hikaru may have said, I am Master Mage Clef. I am the head sorcerer in Cephiro. I'll tell you more when I see you back in the crystal towers." That's when Clef vanished as well as the beam of light. With priorities set, all Ash and Hikaru could do now was...well, what was their next move?

"To think that prior to running into you, I was on my way to Presea's workshop to pick up her blueprints," she huffed. "At least it's on the way through the Forest of Silence." To Ash, it was a backtrack through the forest. "Let's go." No choice. Ash shrugged his shoulders, hoping that this trip would go as smoothly as when they first entered. He turned to the mouse and snake creatures, wondering if they'll be fine traversing through the sea of trees.

"You guys feel like going through the Forest of Silence again?" Not left with much of a choice, Pikachu and Seviper agreed. They got back to Hikaru, Ash wanting to know the story between her and this world as Pikachu jumped back onto Ash's shoulder and Mokona being in Hikaru's arms. "Is it all right if I ask what Cephiro is and why you happened to be a magic knight?" Hikaru didn't mind telling a story.

"Sure. You see, back some time ago, Umi, Fuu and I were complete strangers who met in the Tokyo Tower when the pillar of Cephiro, Princess Emeraude, summoned us into this world. After meeting Clef, the three of us were sent out to find the three rune god, defeat High Priest Zagato and save Emeraude. However, despite us beating Zagato and saving Cephiro, there was one mission that we had no choice but to alter. Wanna guess?" Ash had a pretty good guess on what mission couldn't be done.

"That would be the princess, right?"

"That's right. When Zagato was done with, Emeraude became hostile since her duties of praying for Cephiro was overruled by her love for the High Priest..." Hikaru frowned upon the next words. "We were left no choice but to destroy her. Even though we were reluctant to fulfill, it was what Emeraude would've wanted." Ash felt sympathy for the spirit-worn knight.

"Sorry to hear about that."

"Don't worry. Because of Emeraude's death, the world became unbalanced. To restore Cephiro, someone needed to be the next pillar, cast away all emotions to pray for equality in the world. During that time, three countries vied for the honor of being the next pillar: Eagle Vision from Autozam, Lady Aska of Fahren and twin sisters of Chizeta, Tatra and Tarta...and unknowingly myself." Hikaru too? Ash had a convincing thought of why and relation.

"No offense, but since I've known your feelings, you worry more on everyone else before your own safety comes to mind. It's the same with my friends." Now it was Hikaru who was amazed. Ash had admitted to caring for others before himself. Did Hikaru go through that same feeling?

"None taken. Heck, if you were here during the war for the pillar, you'd be one that Emeraude wouldn't mind taking her place. But yeah, I cared more about Umi, Fuu, Ascot, Caldina, Presea...well, you'll meet them soon enough. While we did stop the threat of more evil, Eagle was lost in the struggle...and other than me, he was aptly accepted as one who would be the pillar. I was chosen by Emeraude, but I used the pillar system to restore Cephiro and let the world run without the operation of the system, which brings us..." Obviously to today. The group stopped at a large brick wall, about 20 feet up. Hikaru proceeded to a portion of the wall, knocking on a really small piece of stone. That's when a giant chunk of the wall vanished. Was that magic? In the Forest of Silence? "I'll be back in a minute." Going on trust, Ash allowed Hikaru to enter the wall. Ash leaned on the wall, reflecting on what expense she had to pay to keep this world intact. Before long, Hikaru returned, large rolls of paper in her hands. Ash was in such deep thought, he wasn't aware of Pikachu and Seviper training on physical attacks...with their tails. You couldn't really do much in this forest. "Got it." Pikachu and Seviper heard Hikaru's call, ending their spar. Ash? Well, his mind might have gone to a different stratosphere. Let's see... She slapped him for his recklessness, shared a story...what could she do? How about something mischievous? A wicked smile spotted Ash's cap that he had on. Going by that material, Hikaru snatched Ash's cap, yanking it from his head. Feeling the removal, Ash snapped out of his delusion, eying the redhead waiving his cap like a flag held by a little kid. Ash was humbled, but upset at how low Hikaru was willing to go.

"Hey! That's my hat!"He gave chase, allowing Hikaru to play "Keep Away" with the use of Ash's cap.

"Come and get it, Sleeping Beauty!" she teased. Well, look who's mature now? They ran until Ash was an inch from Hikaru's shoulder. With one lunge, Ash dove for his cap, only to allow this knight/thief to see an opening. She swung her leg out in a sweeping motion, tripping Ash into a face plant onto the dirt path. He skidded for a good few yards when...SPLASH! He ended up soaking in a pond. As he emerged from his slide into the drink, Hikaru was right there, donning his cap on her head. "Man, I never would've anticipated a great trainer like yourself to lose focus on what's ahead just because of this." She was getting under Ash's nerves with each word. Needless to point out how peeved Ash was with the whole mess.

"Of all that I've befriended, why do tomboys have the most fun with me?" Not sure how to address that. In a forgiving mood, Hikaru offered a hand to help Ash out of there. That would backfire. As soon as they locked hands, Ash gave one good tug, pulling Hikaru into the pond. One good trick deserved another. Hikaru pulled herself from the water, not acting as cherubic when she sent Ash diving. "Man, I never would've anticipated a great magic knight to fall for the oldest trick in the book." Hikaru was a bit steamed with the fool and Ash snickering, but she also felt that a good laugh was necessary. Seviper arrived and with that bladed tail, lifted the two from the water as Pikachu and Mokona got to the scene. Feelings as good as they could be, the group continued onward until night fell. The moon was shining brightly for the dimmed feelings upon Ash, Hikaru and the creatures. "Looks like we need to camp out tonight." Hikaru wasn't too worried about it.

"Luckily, we've got our ace in the hole, right Mokona?" Mokona chirped positively about the idea. "And since we're at an edge of the Forest of Silence, Mokona can pitch our cabin with ease." Ash didn't bite so easily. He needed proof.

"How is someone so little know how to pitch a cabin with hardly any light, less alone?" Hikaru was undeterred. She knew something that Ash was clueless about.

"Mokona, if you please?" Looking at an open space, Mokona's jewel shined again. What materialized was a pretty big white mini-home. Ash had a change in heart...mind and belief to what he saw.

"Pinch me, for I must be dreaming."

("I didn't see that coming,") Pikachu awed. Hikaru and Mokona walked into the home, followed by Ash and the Pokémon. Inside, there was light. There was a king-size bed with...Did Mokona steal that blanket from the Powerpuff Girls? There was a couch, a table with a bowl of fruit, a drawer...the main essentials.

"Mokona, you are awesome." Mokona rubbed the back of its head, not a big deal to it. Seviper and Pikachu had gone to town on the fruit, ripe for eating. After a while, Hikaru, donned in a nightgown, was sleeping in the bed with Pikachu and Mokona and Ash rested on the couch, his sweat-tee and cap lying on the table. Ash woke up, unable to really sleep. He got up and walked out of the home, a thought drilling into his mind. "Princess Emeraude...was that who told me about the tragedy?" To Ash, the nightmare may not have been any ordinary nightmare. Then again, what would an ordinary nightmare be like? In thought, he wondered about a relationship with the nightmare and what had transpired today. "Team Rocket had died in my nightmare, searching for someone. Then, you have the four colored twisters with eyes attacking me. Right now, I'm in the same world as Team Rocket and were apparently looking for two of Hikaru's friends, Umi and Fuu. And there's word of demon gods. Could the demon gods be the twisters that I saw?" In the wrong state of mind, he shook his head. "No, no, no. There's more. It's gotta be what's inside the twisters. I guess I'll need more info when we meet Clef. Maybe he'll know how we can get back to Pallet Town." He remained outside for an hour before shuffling himself back inside to rest. It was about to be a day of absorbing data about the world of Cephiro.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...(Happy Halloween)


	3. Latency, an Unforeseeable Power

_Chapter 3: Latency, an Unforeseeable Power

* * *

_

The morning rose above the Forest of Silence. The sun beamed over the mini-home which was created by Mokona. Ash, Hikaru, Pikachu, Seviper and Mokona were struck with the beaming light, forcing them to moan and wake up. A good stretch, a fruity breakfast and a change in clothes where Ash willingly removed himself on privacy terms later, everyone was ready to move on to the crystal towers. It was quite a scene yesterday. After Ash and Team Rocket escaped the forest to begin with, they were immediately confronted by Alcyone, a witch with magical ice powers under the control of demon gods. Poor Team Rocket never stood a chance as they were blown away from Ash and the Pokémon. Just when Ash was about to eat it himself, Hikaru entered the scene and rescuing Ash, only to return the favor with a slick maneuver and Pikachu's electricity. It was also a note when Hikaru wanted to know where her friends, Umi and Fuu, had disappeared to. Now, blueprints from Presea's place amongst their grasps, they traversed to meet up with Clef, the head sage of Cephiro. Mokona fired a beam from the embedded jewel on its forehead, striking the mini-home. The home vanished, further impressing Ash. "Aren't you the icon of a total package?" he teased. Mokona blushed, amused with what it believed was a compliment.

"I looked at the map and we're at least a good eight kilometers from the towers," Hikaru reviewed. "If we hurry, we'll make it there by midday." Sounded like a plan. Not wasting anymore time, the troupe moved forward. Before long, they got back in and out of the forest where there stood giant blue crystals standing like skyscrapers. Ash and the Pokémon were amazed with how huge the structure appeared.

"You've returned, Hikaru," sounded Clef? The two peered to...well, that's Clef's face. He was about half Hikaru's or Ash's height. He looked sort of like a kid. He had a wand with a swirl at the head. Ash couldn't make sense at the kid he was seeing.

"I have, Master Mage Clef." That's Clef? This would be related to not judging a book by its cover.

"Guess looks are overrated," Ash gulped. Clef approached Ash, wanting to know the helper of Hikaru.

"I'm hypothesizing that you must be this trainer named Ash, is that correct?" Clef acknowledged. Ash nervously nodded, confirming Clef's suspicions. Pikachu walked up to Clef, interested with the master of magic. "So, this is what a Pokémon looks like? Fascinating!" This was an opportunity for Ash to educate Clef.

"That's Pikachu. He's my first Pokémon and best friend." Pikachu held its arms out to shake the sage, showing that it was harmless.

"An interesting specimen, indeed." Clef shook Pikachu's hand. Peace with the mouse and sage. "It is nice to meet you." If Pikachu would talk like Ash or Hikaru or even Clef would, he would oblige. Hikaru chose to speak upon another matter.

"Clef, any word on where Umi and Fuu are?" she questioned. One frowning glare to Hikaru told the redhead knight the negative news.

"The demon gods have made my magic sensory to find the other knights inaccessible." His magical searching had been jammed? "Come inside." Going by his word, Clef led Ash, Hikaru and the creatures inside the towers. The halls inside were pretty decked out, like all those fantasy castle halls. Seviper seemed to have picked up a scent. A familiar scent. Ash saw that Seviper was onto something, thus stopping.

"You can sense Jessie in here?" he asked. Seviper rapidly nodded, knowing that scent from anywhere. "Okay. We'll meet up later." Seviper acknowledged Ash's word, letting it slither away. With Seviper gone, Ash returned to the sage and knight. Suddenly, they all arrived in a big room, looking like a throne room. They weren't alone. A mass of people had gathered in the room. What, was there a conference that had been in recess? There were a few knights, according to the armor that they've worn. One blond man was in blue armor, a green-haired man in golden-yellow armor and a raven-haired in black armor. There was also a blondish-brunette in a red gown, as well as a heavily-tanned pink-haired woman in what appeared to be a swimsuit. Lastly, there was a brunette wearing a green mushroom-style hat and a white robe.

"Ooh, who's this cutie-pie?" the tanned one cooed in a sultry southern accent. "Not as old as the blue-haired wimp, but still charming and more brave." That's one impression left in someone's mind. When she mentioned the blue-haired, did she mean James? Ash was awe-stricken with all these people. They can't be all Hikaru's friends, could they? That's when the brunette stepped forward, wanting news on the search.

"Anything, Hikaru?" he asked. Hikaru shook her head, throwing the bad news his way.

"Sorry, Ascot," she frowned. Ascot realized that she's been looking long and hard about the situation. Ash became interested with who these people were. Ascot the same.

"So, who's he?" Hikaru was a bit quick to respond.

"He helped me try to get Alcyone back on our side. He's Ash, an avid Pokémon trainer." In addition, Ash held his hand out for a prompt handshake.

"It's nice to meet you," Ash greeted. Ascot, seeing no harm, gladly accepted the shake. Hikaru now tried to explain the brunette's side.

"Ascot's somewhat like you. He's a summoner with an array of monsters waiting to be unleashed." A summoner? That's pretty cool to Ash's ears. "As for the rest." Ash began to listen to Hikaru. "The one who complimented you in the bustier is Caldina. By her in the red gown is Presea. She helped forge my sword, as well as weapons for Umi and Fuu." Presea waived a hello. Now to the knights. "The one in the gold armor is Ferio. He has a crush on Fuu." A crush, huh? Ferio didn't appreciate letting a rumor be leaked like so.

"Hikaru, don't embarrass me like that," he groaned while palming his head. Hikaru and Caldina enjoyed a laugh knowing that one secret was out.

"Anyway, the blond muscled guy is Lafarga. He was once under the spell of Zagato until I freed him." Lafarga nodded to the news, confirming the issue.

"That is true," he said. "I was the Captain of the Guard in charged of protecting the Pillar and the system. Since then, I'm a free knight, though I haven't lost my killing potential." Scary enough.

"The last knight, the one in black, is Lantis." Hikaru started to blush a bit. It would seem that Hikaru had a crush on Lantis. Poor Ash. Well, he didn't seem too worked up about it. Lantis made his approach, willing to explain himself further.

"Greetings, Ash," he greeted himself with a hand for a shake. "If Hikaru hasn't mentioned this, I am High Priest Zagato's brother." For this man to be the brother of someone who the knights beat down, he had to do something to gain their trust, like so with Ash as he accepted the handshake. "Unlike my older brother, I would be protecting the knights instead of making them my enemy."

"Same here," Ash agreed. Lantis saw Pikachu, scratching under its chin, showing his true heart of being a nice guy. Pikachu enjoyed the scratching by the "Cha" it squeaked. "You like, Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded, pleased with the togetherness of Cephiro having the finest. Clef came forward, Ash glad that he wanted to get to the bottom of the crisis. "I'm sorry to ask this, but what's the deal about the demons that Hikaru had mentioned on the way here?" Clef realized that Ash wanted to aid Hikaru and this merry band. Pikachu raced to Mokona and played with it.

"It started not too long ago, after Hikaru had wished for Cephiro to exist without the presence of the Pillar System," he started. "The Pillar System was designed that whoever donned the crown, the ignition to the System, they would constantly pray for peace and balance to Cephiro. What no one, not even myself, knew that the Pillar System was also a seal that encased the world's four mightiest demons, the Terror Gods, in the unbeknown underworld. When Hikaru made that wish, it released the Terror Gods from their imprisonment in which they gradually regained their strength. They had enough power to capture Alcyone and control her actions while these fiends from each country bide their time trying to restore themselves." In a sense, Hikaru unintentionally broke a seal that barred these demons from creating chaos. Yet, he mentioned each country? Did each of the surrounding countries have a personal demon?

"You saying that there's a demon in Autozam, Fahren and Chizeta as well?" It sounded reasonable enough, but to place the blame on Hikaru as if it was her fault for breaking the seal without any warnings?

"Each country, even this one, is trying their best to maintain some control, preventing a possible Armageddon to bare wrath," Lantis addressed. Cephiro became pretty much screwed over with the disappearance of the Pillar System.

"We thought we could call upon the magical knights to help stop this threat," Ascot continued. "However, those demon beat us to the punch and captured Umi and Fuu before we had a chance. Hikaru was lucky enough to get to the tower in her world of Japan." There was a world called Japan? It didn't sound right.

"Thanks to a safety measure of mine, the knights' rune gods, Selece and Windam, were back in their shrines, thus unable to to be abused by these demons," Clef noted. Ash became highly interested with all this information about Cephiro. Maybe a little too much. Yet, he became focused on what may be a big adventure with Hikaru.

"So, what's the plan?" he asked, thinking that there was a way to keep these demons in check. "Do we check the countries and wipe out these Terror Gods, do we visit the shrines and let Hikaru borrow their powers, what?" Two suggestions already thrown out to the meeting. Clef could tell how anxious Ash was to going out and taking names as he would try and kick demon derriere.

"I understand that you want to keep peace within Cephiro, but haste will complicate matters." This told Ash to chill out. What drove Ash to act in the matter of trying to solve matters without any cause for repercussion? Homesickness? To gain strength with the demons? To solve the matter at hand? "Let us discuss any solutions for right now. Besides, you have friends you may need to regroup with." If that meant Team Rocket, he didn't really show enthusiasm. Ferio stepped forward, volunteering to guide Ash to them.

"Come with me," he insisted.

"Hey, I'll see you later," Hikaru promised. Ash believed her before being escorted away. Clef watched on, sensing something with Ash that made him a little fearful. He waited until Ash was out of earshot.

"He has something devastating within him," he briefed. Everyone gazed at Clef, interested to know what could be so devastating about Ash, other than his cuteness according to Caldina.

"Something...devastating?"

"You mean that Ash has something that you fear?" Ascot wildly guessed. Clef gazed at the crowd, his comfort zone regenerated.

"Fear may not be the right term for Ash," he clarified. "He may not be aware of this but he harnesses an power which may rival my own and the princess's energies combined. He may be kindhearted, but that will depend on his actions when the Terror Gods show themselves. This latent power he bestows..." Everyone became weary with this detail. To Clef, Hikaru may have brought a dangerous weapon of mass destruction. "I would like a chance to address this matter to him and see a decision. He could use this power to destroy the vile fiends or us." Ash, using latent powers to kill people? No, that can't be right. Meantime, Ferio guided Ash to a room where the Rockets were.

"So, Hikaru was just teasing you for how you act around Fuu, huh?" Ash giggled. Ferio was not too appreciated with the notion, trying hard to ignore the detail.

"This is where Lafarga escorted your friends to," he informed. If you could call Team Rocket friends of Ash, then the world of Pokémon would be in danger from his get-go. Ferio knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" sounded James.

"Me, Ferio. I brought the last member of your troupe." If you could see James's face of how awe-struck he was about Ash surviving...

"It's opened." Ferio opened the door allowing Ash inside to see Jessie, James and Meowth in the room. It had two twin-size beds and a couch. You could bet the couch was where Ash would be sleeping on tonight. Ash wasn't too pleased with sharing a room with Team Rocket, but mustered a smile regardless.

"Thanks, Ferio," he coughed. Ferio bobbed a nod before departing, leaving the trainer with the Team. "This has been hectic from the start. I mean, coming home from my journey in the Hoenn Region and getting word about the Battle Frontier was exciting enough without actually dragging you into this mess." You think Ash was upset, Jessie was peeved. She had to align with Ash to save Cephiro. She wasn't really one for saving anything.

"You think I enjoy it anymore than you?" scolded Jessie. "If you hadn't baited us into falling for a trap, we'd be well on our way with your other Pokémon." While Jessie was less than acceptable of joining Ash in rescuing the world of the demons, James was more sympathetic.

"Look at it this way, Jessie," he voiced. "The twerp's gonna need our help as much as we need him to survive and get us back home. Right now, even though it's not jail, we're at least getting some hots and a cot." Meals and a place to sleep. Jessie sighed, allowing this to be passed on.

"That will mean squat if the twerp's nightmare does come true." That struck a nerve to James and Meowth. "Of course, that's gonna be a bigger surprise if the twerp worries about us." Ash huffed a chuckle, knowing how ridiculous it sounded.

"Hey, it wouldn't be the first time," he snickered. "I still remember when you guys leaped from Lugia's leg and into the water below in the Orange Islands, or when you helped my friends pull me from falling at that one mansion when Entei had watched over Molly." Good memories? Meowth seemed intrigued with what Ash got from the meeting with Clef.

"By the way, has there been any word on the issue is with the demons in question?" it asked. Ash knew there had been little discussion with the topic.

"Well, they are debating whether we go after the countries to fight the demons or to obtain the power of the other Rune Gods meant for the knights who've been kidnapped. There may be other options but no doubt that those seem to be the most obvious choices at the moment." Understanding, Jessie had a guess on the move at hand.

"If you ask me, the Rune Gods would be a wiser choice," she minded. "That way, the last knight can have the power to vanquish the demons. Of course, where does that leave us?" From your tone, nowhere.

"I'm pretty sure the kiddie sage will give us something to protect ourselves," James reassured. "But she may be right about this. Whether it's you or your latest fling, getting to the other Rune Gods first will keep the demons from cheating their way free." Latest fling? One frustrated sigh was Ash's reply to that unintentional tease.

"James, we may have been under the same tent, last night," he warned. "Not under the same blanket, so don't start running your mouth about me having a relationship." That sure taught James a lesson. That's when there was another knock. Was Ascot returning Pikachu? "Come in." The door opened where Pikachu raced in and leaped into Ash's arms. Guess it was done playing with Mokona. However, it wasn't Ascot who returned Ash's mouse. Popping her head in was Presea. Ash was happy that she returned Pikachu, but Team Rocket was wondering why she decided to come by at this time.

"Did something come up, Sierra?" Jessie asked while incorrectly calling her name. Ash had to say something but wondered why Jessie called her, Sierra and not Presea.

"Sierra? I thought her name was Presea." Feeling a need to clear this mess, the blondish woman chose to speak up.

"Presea was my twin sister," Pres- Sierra explained. "She died during the knights' first trip through the Forest of Silence. If she was alive, you wouldn't be able to tell us apart." That would explain quite a bit with what happened in the past. Yet it troubled Ash.

"Well, why didn't you say something to Hikaru about that, that your twin sister's no longer here?" A shy look-away told Ash that telling Hikaru about her dead sister would lead to bad outcomes.

"You see...I don't wanna distract Hikaru from doing what she needs to do." Ash and the Rockets seemed aware of her motives of keeping Hikaru happy. "Other than that, dinner will be ready in about half an hour. This will be the last free meal until we put you to work." Hey, anything to put food on the table...and in their stomachs. Night rolled around pretty fast. The Rockets and Pokémon were sound asleep. Ash? Not so much. That nightmare kept bothering him as much as bottling it up. He got up from the couch quietly. Not quietly enough. Meowth heard the crackling of joints, waking up to see Ash heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" he whispered. Ash turned to the awakened cat, attempting to ease Meowth of any hostile sneaks.

"Just having some trouble sleeping," he admitted. "Just going to take a few laps." Thinking that it wasn't such a big deal, Meowth waived him off, allowing Ash to exit the room. Ash was out in the hall, his head never any clearer. The nightmare, the "wall," Cephiro, Hikaru, Terror Gods, Team Rocket...nothing came to him of why he needed or deserved to be inside this world.

"You look like someone gave you a good smack upside the head," a little girl's voice echoed. Ash spun to see something as big as his head, or at least Pikachu. A winged fairy had come by Ash's ear. The tiny woman had long sky blue hair while wearing some sort of a hot looking pink dress. "Something not stirring too well, like your company?"

"If only. By the way, I didn't see you when I met everyone else." The fairy chuckled, mischievously hiding something from the topic.

"I hid inside Lantis's armor, sleeping. You can call me Primera." Was that everyone? Maybe not. "And that makes you Ash, the great and fearless trainer?" Now it was Ash's turn for a laugh. He needed one.

"That's rather exaggerated, but it's amongst those lines."

"That's wonderful. Master Mage Clef wants to see you." Ash was a bit stunned. What would Clef want with him?

"Oh. That's why you came to see me?" Primera nodded and giggled as she led Ash back to the meeting room. Then they entered, Clef on the throne. Clef looked on, seeing the young man in question.

"Ash, sorry to pull you out of your guest room at this time," he apologized. Ash wasn't upset with Clef, yet his offer to accompany him left Ash scratching his head.

"That's alright. I couldn't get any sleep." When Ash and Primera got situated, he had to wonder what the deal was in meeting him at this time. "So, what's with summoning me over here?" Clef took a moment to clear his thoughts before speaking.

"Let me start at the point. There is a source of power dormant inside of you." Ash began to think that it was nothing that Clef couldn't handle, unaware of what may be inside be more than he could handle.

"Doesn't sound like I should be worried. Any reason you're panicking over it?" It was no joke to Clef's face.

"It's not a small blip. What you have is more powerful than myself, Alcyone and Zagato combined." Ash was in further disbelief. Did he have that kind of power before? "While my heart had skipped a beat when I sensed that power, I've also noticed that you are a kindhearted fellow, someone who protects those that deem important. Your power may destroy a planet if not in the right hands. However, the choice of whether you can access the power for healing or destroying is up to you, or if you want to remain sealed of your powers." To be left with a choice... Ash closed his eyes, thinking deeply. All he needed was two seconds.

"If what you saw in me is factual, then I might as well use it. Although, you were right about me being kindhearted. If there's anyway to stop these demons and save Cephiro, you need to be on your A-game." Clef sighed, thinking that Ash had doomed the world. Still, Ash chose to use it instead of bottling it.

"Then it is decided. I hope you don't regret this choice." A stern warning. Ash bobbed his acknowledgment. "Then tomorrow, you and Hikaru will travel to the shrines to obtain the other Rune Gods, Selece of the Sea and Windam of the Sky." It sounded unanimous. The Cephiro group and Team Rocket seemed to be on equal grounds. That's when Ash remembered the dream, wondering if Clef knew any details.

"By the way, I was thinking about seeing you because I had a nightmare that might relate to Cephiro." Clef didn't react too much to this new news.

"How so?"

"Well, there was this blond girl in a ball of light who told me this: 'A great tragedy will befall the allies that help you rescue the magical knights.' That's when I saw Jessie and James dead with their throats cut open." A twitching eye told Clef that the nightmare was more than a bad dream.

"Princess Emeraude? She was in your dream?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?" Clef held his mouth shut for a moment to contemplate Ash's dream.

"The late princess... this could post a more interest than far imaginable. If she did appear in your dream, you have a purpose here after all. The question is what and will it help or hamper Cephiro?" Tough questions. Ash had doubts that what may come next won't benefit him or anyone else who would oppose the Terror Gods. "Thank you for addressing this. You may return while I ponder what Emeraude has in store from beyond the grave." Okay. Hopefully, Ash wished for good news.

"Let me know when you've got an idea." He exited the room while Clef and Primera wondered about the late princess's appearance in someone she'd never met during her time alive.

'A great tragedy will befall the allies that help you rescue the magical knights. Princess Emeraude, what are you trying to signal from the heavens?' Clef wondered hard. What would this great tragedy befall upon?

"I hope it's Alcyone," Primera guessed. "It'll be a great thing if she falls. Knowing how she acted on Lantis, calling him his brother's name." She steamed in self anger before a thought of mischievousness billowed in her head. "Maybe I'll get that Ash to fall in love with Hikaru. That way, she won't be in the way of Lantis." Her snickering while leaving Clef alone had the master sage ask what that was all about. With plans underway to stop the Terror Gods, Ash and Hikaru have to visit the shrines to obtain the powers of the Rune Gods to help combat the threat. Could they achieve the retrieval before the Terror Gods make a move? Could Team Rocket maintain a truce with Ash or is betrayal on their minds?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Rune Gods, Acquiring Major Power

_Chapter 4: Rune Gods, Acquiring Major Power

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_

The morning rose once again. Ash's talk did more mental harm than help. Clef had advised Ash that he contained latent powers far greater than Clef and Alcyone combined. Could his power really be that mighty? As the sun began its ascent, Team Rocket was hard at work stretching and sewing nylon fabric with Sierra, not Presea, supervising the operation. From what they were working on, they seem to be building a hot-air balloon. "I understand that the design isn't the same as what's back at the ranch," Meowth muttered. "But if it helps the twerps in any attempt to get home, we may not have any choice." The design being Meowth's head? Please...

"What was your balloon's design?" Sierra asked.

"It was Meowth's head, with that charm addition," Jessie answered. Sierra got a mental glimpse of what that would look like, not too liking of their balloon.

"If you ask me, it's tasteless. I'd prefer a simple color balloon, disguising the true intent. Knowing your balloon, people get wind way too fast and take defensive measures." Sound advice. James believed where Sierra was coming from. Perhaps a change in their balloon would aid them in the future.

"She's got a good point, Jessie," he agreed. "Our balloon is probably getting wind around our world at this point." Jessie and Meowth billowed a sigh, frustrated that their partner in crime had sided with the twin of a late friend. Suddenly, the door opened, Ash and...Mokona? Why was Mokona with him and not Pikachu? Team Rocket and Sierra shot their heads to Ash, wondering if they were going to help them with the balloon.

"Ash, right on time." Sierra was expecting him? What for?

"How's the balloon coming?" he asked. One look was a good indication of smoothness. Meowth was flapping the fabric for durability which looked strong. "Nice." That's when Sierra came forward, holding a short curved sword. She handed it to Ash. "What's this?" It's a short sword, silly.

"Well, knowing that you've volunteered to battle the Terror Gods, Clef had asked me to choose a weapon for you and your comrades." Ash did a couple of practice swings. Mokona disagreed with the choice of tool for Ash, who acknowledged the puffball's ruling.

"This feels more for Jessie than myself. You got anything which doesn't have so much killing potential?" Jessie was a bit stunned with Ash wanting something easier to wield, not so much his choice to give her the short sword.

"You do realize, twerp, that we're not dealing with unruly people but dangerous demons," she reminded. Ash scoffed a chuckle, thinking that there were many other ways to deal with the Terror Gods than sharp instruments.

"Jessie, what about our Pokémon? Just because we're inexperienced with tools known for human battles or big wars, that's where our Pokémon have the strength. Poisoners like your arsenal provide potential to something bigger than what these demons would expect." Insightful, James became fascinated with Ash's ploy in the Cephiro crisis, wanting to add to the discussion.

"I get it," he voiced. "We battle their monsters with our monsters, right?"

"To start with. Once we acquire the Rune Gods' powers, their aid and our Pokémon, along with Hikaru's assistance will prove greater than the demons and save the other knights." Ash was set to do what Clef would've asked him to do. That's when Sierra got a different weapon: an iron staff.

"How about this?" she asked. "This staff was created out of a special escudo alloy for light weight and max damage. It was also the same metal used to forge the knights' swords." Worth a feel, Ash attempted a few practice swings, almost executing a combination chain of swings. Meowth liked how well Ash was able to work a feel for the staff. "Try a thrust." Obeying, Ash forced the staff forward. What for? Nothing happened. What, some sort of Roman candle being shot out? Sierra was a bit confused, seeing nothing from the thrust. "Try the other side. I think that side has it." Ash shrugged his shoulders before spinning the staff over, the other end to try that side out. The set. The thrust. Out popped a spike. Oh ho, that's the surprise. The spike looked like a spade in 3-D.

"You gave him a spear?" Jessie monotoned, believing Sierra didn't listen. Sierra saw nothing wrong with the sneaky spear in the staff, a good last-ditch tool.

"Just in case anything in Autozam needs to be spiked." Ash pushed the spear back inside, satisfied with the staff as it was.

"I was expecting some sort of flare shot or a flash blast," he huffed. "Hey, easier on the eyes, I guess." Meowth stood, ready to offer a piece of his mind. Apparently, something had been ruffling his nose.

"Say, twerp," he meowed. "You might need to wash up. I understand that you've been traveling through that forest and worked up a sweat with that lurking nightmare..." Ash threw his hands up, saying enough.

"I get it! I get it! Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks, Sierra."

"My pleasure," Sierra accepted as Ash departed for a wash up. During the moment, Hikaru was in a greenhouse-like room, trees and other plant life strewn all over the place, swinging her sword and trying to loosen herself. She wielded her sword into such a rhythm, she found combination chain swings. For an hour, she flung her sword like a bat in the hands of someone who doesn't know baseball and its proper use.

"That should work off the calories," she chirped to herself. "I need a bath." She walked out of the room, into the hallway where Primera got a bad scent from her.

"Oh, man," she complained as she pinched her nose. "What were you doing, cardiovascular training through a swamp?" Come on, Primera. It couldn't be that bad.

"I was just letting out some frustration for Umi and Fuu being missing. Nothing much." Primera got what Hikaru meant, but didn't think that it was enough to grant the stench pluming from her.

"Nothing much? I was able to smell you from across the hall! Go take a bath." Hikaru took Primera's word, but had to ask if anyone was using it already.

"Okay, but is anyone using it, right now? I don't wanna be rude in barging in."

"No, not really." Satisfied, Hikaru proceeded to get freshened up. Primera watched Hikaru leave...with a villainous smirk smothering her face. 'Operation: Young Love engage. Phase one: Wet Eyes.' Wait...someone was in the bath? She lied! Who could be in there? Ascot? Clef? James? It's Ash, soaking in some green water. A tea-based bathwater? Ash was as calm as he would ever be, yet he remained in such a deep thought, the water was still. His upper body looked unusually chiseled, like he had been doing some working out of his own. Sure, he was thinly fit, but his chest was pretty muscular.

'I wonder if Misty or Max know how I managed to lure Team Rocket into Cephiro, or even if they found that wall where we fell through,' he minded. 'I mean, sure that this is another adventure. Maybe after we save the other knights, I could introduce them to my friends and my Pokémon.' He should be watching the door. Hikaru slid the door open before getting ready to enter the bath. Ash heard the door and looked to see who it was. This...ought to be good. Hikaru, a towel covering her breasts and anything else considered private, saw Ash and vice versa. Was this what Primera had in mind? If not for the color of the water or the towel, all naughty parts would be there for both to view. They stared at each other for a minute when Hikaru slowly closed the door, shocked at seeing a naked young man in the bath. Ash was too stunned, even a flinch wasn't acting, seeing a young woman in eau natural. When Hikaru closed the door, nice and slowly...

"AH!" she screamed her lungs out. Her scream was so vocalized, it shook the towers and rattled the floors so, so much, Jessie lost her balance and...how do you think furball tastes? If that wasn't a good enough clue, Jessie fell onto Meowth and kissed him. And you thought that the story only revolved around Ash and Hikaru. Speaking of, she stopped her scream, turned around and plopped her naked buttocks on the floor as Jessie and Meowth broke from each other...and spat out what saliva they may have sucked in. Hikaru was so freaked out, she couldn't gasp seeing a man in the bathtub, let alone naked. Ash? He could relate in some aspects. Did he know that he would be getting company...in that fashion? "So-sorry about that. I-I didn't know that you were bathing already." Ash had a feeling that he may have some guilt on himself.

"I-I wasn't aware that you wanted to take a bath, yourself!" There was a moment of silence as everyone regained their bearings.

"Primera told me that the bath was empty and I wanted to take advantage of it." This was true. Ash was willing to blame himself, unbeknown that Primera set the scene up.

"I may have been a little too quiet. Can't really blame her for thinking the tub's free." Primera, watching from a hole above the tub, couldn't believe her good luck that she was not being accused of this plot.

"So, how much did you see?" Hikaru was wondering about what Ash viewed during that short peeking session.

"I was about to ask you that."

"What, you...don't like girls?"

"N-no, it's far from that. I guess... when I travel in my world, I keep a focused eye on whether the next person I see would challenge me to a battle or not, regardless of sex. Just about every time, we become friends in which we could battle again. It's more or less getting to know what's out there." Hikaru thought of what Ash could be meaning. To battle others and make friends. Something was missing though.

"But aren't you a caring trainer? Always looking out for your Pokémon?"

"I do. I try to train and treat Pikachu and all my others. Heck, there are times where I could go above and beyond to help them. Probably why I had gone to see Presea for a weapon. I need to keep you guys safe, right?" He kept Sierra's wishes in thinking that she was her late sister. Hikaru acknowledged Ash's claim, trusting that she could rely on him

"So you are selfless. I was kinda worried."

"Hey, if I didn't know any better, I'd say Primera wanted us to see each other naked. When we get cleaned up, we'll go to the shrines to get Selece and Windam. If there's time, we can spar."

"You bet. I do wanna work out with Pikachu, if that's alright with you."

"Hey, absolutely." Well, that was a sweet conversation. Ash got out of the tub and wrapped his lower portion in a towel as he exited the heated steamy room. Hikaru had a good chance to see Ash without as much as a hat on. She poked and rubbed her finger along the smoothness of Ash's chest. She was a bit amused. She strolled into the tub. She wanted to believe that Ash wasn't masturbating in there, otherwise this story would get out of control. She soaked in the tub, hoping to feel the same comfort as Ash had. An hour after stepping in, Hikaru joined the trainers outside where Ash was using an orange tortoise with a dark brown shell was spewing flames into a new hot-air balloon. This was a more basic style with a single color: black. What wasn't so basic was that there were two baskets attached to this new balloon. Why two? As the balloon began to lift, one basket, carrying Team Rocket, was rising. Ash, Hikaru and their creatures entered the still-grounded basket just before liftoff.

"So, Magic Knight," Jessie addressed. "Where are we going?" To Windam's or Selece's shrine?

"Let's go to the mountains," she answered, pointing to a direction. Easy enough. That's when Ash snagged a red/white ball of his own.

"Swellow, I choose you," he summoned as he tossed the ball upward. The ball opened, vomiting another ball of light before shaping. Out of the light was a large black swallow bird with reddish lining under the eyes. Ash tossed a roped ring up to the bird who caught it with its talons. Jessie didn't think that it was a bad idea. She got her own ball.

"Dustox, you're helping," she called as she threw her ball. The ball opened, light emerged, and out billowed a purple moth with ragged green wings and yellow eyes. Jessie flung her ring to where it hook around the moth's head. Ash mulled at her toss.

"Jessie, that's a ring, not a lasso!"

"Zip it, twerp!" Hikaru clutched her head, thinking that the formula of Ash and Jessie wasn't mixing well. The winged creatures found a jet stream of wind to glide the balloon to the mountains, which they managed to arrive in a couple of hours. "Thanks to that tailwind, the mountains are in range." The winds and Pokémon carried the balloon closer to the jagged landscape when Hikaru found a large hole amongst the tops.

"There it is!" Hikaru voiced as she pointed to the cavernous hole. Following her word, Swellow and Dustox flapped as hard as they could until they spotted a place to land. The baskets glided over and plopped onto the rocky ground. All of the riders exited the baskets and allowing Ash to reward Swellow with...chocolate? This was a bird, not a young bratty child.

"Now you guys be good," he warned. "We'll be back in a few minutes." With that caution bequeathed to both Swellow and Dustox, the rest entered the cavern, the floor looking like a solid sheet of ice. Was Alcyone here recently? They were mesmerized with all the crystals that protruded from the walls and floor.

"If you ask me, I wouldn't mind taking one of these home and selling it for a really high price," Jessie sneered greedily.

"Tell me about it," Meowth agreed. "What could at least one of these beauties be worth? 100K? 200?" Ash shook his head, showing a smug from hearing how money hungry the two were. That's when they saw a green circle on the floor. Was this the summoning area? The humans walked onto the circle while Mokona, Meowth and Pikachu stayed back. They had sensed something that made their fur stand up.

"This is it," Hikaru murmured. Suddenly, there was a flash of winds blowing inside the circle. Ash braced, lowering his body. Team Rocket? ZOOM! A blasting gust blew Jessie and James from the circle. The winds died down significantly and a giant green bird had fluttered down, landing a good foot away from the circle, a good foot away from Ash and Hikaru. The wings were enormously huge, along with the long neck and gold eyes. This bird's head was like a cockatrice. Could this be Windam of the Sky?

"_**Thou art I and I am thou,"**_ it cawed loudly. **_"Thou have entered the Sky Shrine of Cephiro. I am Windam, Rune God of Cephiro and guardian of the skies."_**The Rune God looked down, mainly gazing upon Hikaru. _**"Hm. Magic Knight Hikaru Shidou, the knight of flames and possessor of Rune God Rayearth. Has something happened to Magic Knight Fuu?"**_ Hikaru was ready to reply to Windam with the urgent news.

"Yes. She and Umi have been captured by the Terror Gods. Master Mage Clef had asked me to retrieve you and Selece in an effort to battle these ancient demons." Windam realized that its possessor was in dire straights. Wanting to protect its possessor, its mind was made.

"_**I see. Unless it's Fuu, I take orders from no one. However, since Clef had asked thou to protect the Rune Gods from the clutches of the Terror Gods. I might as well come along." **_ Windam wanted to join Hikaru. Then, out of nowhere, flames billowed from Hikaru's jewel. Hikaru noticed the flames as it enveloped the air behind her and Ash, forming itself into a horned lion, it's fur entirely consumed in the fire.

"_**So, thou will join me and Hikaru in finding the rest of the Magic Knights and ceasing the existence of the demons, Windam?" **_it roared like the lion that it represented.

"_**Rayearth! Are thou judging my alliance with your appearance?" **_That's Rayearth? This moment had Team Rocket wonder what Selece would look like.

"_**Windam, thou have sensed the vanishings of the Magic Knights like Selece and thyself, haven't thou? Magic Knight Hikaru is the only human that can aid us in vanquishing the Terror Gods and save Cephiro." **_This was a tall order. That's when Windam noticed Ash, not blown from the winds.

"Windam, you can't simply turn away from the action that could destroy Cephiro, could you?" he added his own point. "A powerful god such as yourself cares about Fuu. Why not-"

"_**Thy shan't accept groveling from-"**_ Windam broke his cut-off, feeling a presence in Ash, similar to how Clef felt. **_"A mere human shan't possess such an energy, yet this boy contains a power that may rival a Rune God. Tell thy, where have you obtained this power?" _**Ash was a bit astonished with such a question, unsure on how he should answer it.

"I kinda wish I knew. Even Clef knew that I had to choose to conceal or reveal. If it helps, I'm all for it." Windam and Rayearth could only wonder how he would use this power. Rayearth saw something more in Ash.

"_**Thou has two energies, one of light and one of darkness,"**_ it listed. Light _and_ dark energies. That could be a problem. Meowth was a bit enlightened about the darkness in Ash.

"Kind of ironic that the good guy has dark powers," he murmured. Pikachu and Mokona were in disbelief as well. Could Ash be, in fact, evil and be given an opportunity to kill Hikaru? Let's hope not.

"Rayearth, to say I have dark energy is like me saying that you Rune Gods are always tame," he retaliated. "If I do find a way to confront my dark energy, I'll try to get an understanding." They thought by going with his word and the fact that he'd been by Hikaru to drop the subject.

"_**Very well, human," **_Windam allowed. **_"However, shall these energies create destruction among Cephiro, punishment will be assessed. Right now, I shall merge with you, lone Magic Knight, bequeath the magic that my Magic Knight weld."_** That's when Windam morphed into a green light while Rayearth morphed as well, being a red light. Both coated Hikaru, swirling each other in a mix of green and red. Then, they entered Hikaru's body, having her glow in a whitening color. When the shine faded, Hikaru was a bit different. The flimsy breastplate had grown and given her a matching shoulder guard. She had green orbs where the breastplate and guards attached. This was a bit of a new look for Ash and Team Rocket. Now Hikaru had two Rune Gods with Selece waiting in the wings.

"Let's go and retrieve Selece," she ordered. All agreed as they retreated from the shrine and back on the balloon. As Swellow and Dustox guided the double-basket balloon to where Mokona faced, Ash noticed that Hikaru had a photo in her hand. One look gave Ash a clue of who he should be looking for. The photo had Hikaru in the middle between two other girls. One was a blue-haired girl in a blue dress-shirt. You wouldn't tell what she wore on the bottom because the photo only got the hip up. The other was a blond girl with glasses. She wore a green blouse.

"I take it that those are your friends?" he guessed.

"Yeah. The blond one is Fuu Hououji. She's a very intelligent girl and rather ladylike, more than me. The other one in blue is Umi Ryuuzaki. She's a pretty tough fighter, though short-tempered. The three of us came from different schools which coincidentally shared a field trip to Tokyo Tower. Umi went to a rich girl's school, Fuu's school had the gifted children for smart girls and I went to any ordinary school. As soon as we met each other, Princess Emeraude entered the scene and took us to Cephiro. I've already told you what happened after we arrived." Ash remembered that pretty well. All he could do is give her hope.

"Hikaru. We'll find them. I promise." Hikaru shyly smiled. She wasn't sure if she would rely on Ash to help her considering what Windam and Rayearth had bequeathed. Ash was about to get backup from the higher up, but not any god.

"The twerp is known to keep promises, even fulfilling them to the letter," James portrayed. This was additional information for Hikaru to waiver her trust onto Ash. Jessie, on the other hand, had a dissatisfied look from James's ebbing on Ash.

"You couldn't help but make a peep about the guardian of our target, could you?" she grunted. If there was a reason to give James a reasonable defense, this would be it.

"Well keep in mind, we've witnessed many an occasion where the twerp's asked to do something or another and each time it's completed. Whether or not it's with solving a big problem or a little request, he does it without a second thought." Jessie sighed, flustered that James had gone to the light side. Yes, a role reversal of the _Star Wars_ series where Anakin Skywalker had gone to the Empire after Luke and Leia were born and Amadala died. Anyway, back to the story. The balloon had landed by the shoreline. Out there, an ocean.

"So, Selece of the Sea is down there," Ash pondered. "Tell me we don't need to swim all the way down there." That would be suicide. Mokona came forward and fired a beam from the gem. The beam stopped over the water. That's when a boat emerged and plopped onto the water. The boat had an additional arch from side-to-side. It came to shore, but Ash knew that this vessel wouldn't help get them to the shrine. Should it submerge, it would be impossible to hold their breath until they reach the shrine. "Is this a joke?"

"I'd agree with the kid," Jessie acknowledged. "Unless there's something that gives you air in there, forget it." As if ignoring the complaints, Hikaru boarded the boat.

"Don't underestimate Mokona, alright?" she doubted their doubts. Wanting to see this through, Ash shrugged his shoulders and hopped on. Team Rocket chose to stay on dry land. Suit yourself. Well, the creatures hopped on in which a clear glass dome enveloped around the boat. Ash, Pikachu and Meowth were surprised that an extra option showed itself. The boat was now a submarine. It submerged underwater. The vessel sunk lower and lower as Ash saw what appeared to be an endless view of the undersea.

"I could almost imagine a dating couple taking advantage with this vehicle," he motioned. Why would you say that? Hikaru figured out why with a childish giggle.

"I know. No one would know of a better spot than in a vehicle to sneak in a...private moment with a partner." Pikachu and Meowth acted rather confused with what Ash and Hikaru were talking about. After a few minutes of descending, the vessel reached an underwater cavern and entered. There was a place for the vessel to surface, allowing Ash, Hikaru and the creatures to stretch. One look to the large doors that were jarred. This had to be Selece's shrine. "Here it is." The troupe walked into the doors. There, a statue of a dragon was in front of them. Was that Selece? Needless to say, Ash and the Pokémon was amazed.

"Selece is a dragon? That's so cool." Suddenly, the statue began to glow an eerie blue and the statue was beginning to move. Selece had awaken as the gray of what was a statue became a scaly blue.

"_**Who dares enter the shrine of Selece, Rune God of the Sea and guardian of Cephiro?"**_ the dragon growled as it peered down at the group. It saw Hikaru. **_"Why has the possessor of Rayearth seek thee?" _**Before she could answer, the flames emerged again. Rayearth had been called out.

"_**Selece, the Terror Gods have been freed and are moments from creating chaos in Cephiro,"**_ it explained. **_"Hikaru is the only Magic Knight that has evaded the dark clutches of the fiends." _** Selece didn't show too much expression to the notice of no other Magic Knight available. It's a dragon, of course it had no fear.

"_**Rayearth, are you implying that Magic Knight Umi is no longer with us?"**_ Hikaru shook her head, trying to say that Umi wasn't dead.

"She's alive," she voiced. "There's no way we can reach her at this point. Please, Selece. With you, we can save Cephiro and Umi together." Selece glared up to the ceiling, not sure about going with Hikaru on this quest to save Cephiro without his partner. That's when he spotted Ash and the energy slowly emitting from him.

"_**Ah, so there's more than the crisis of the other Magic Knights and Cephiro that has brought the Rune Gods together. Young boy, Master Mage Clef sensed a power of such inside of you that I can see. This immense power may be what the Terror Gods may desire from you. Are you willing to fight alongside the Magic Knight and the Rune Gods in stopping the threat of the Terror Gods?" **_This was the brave man for the job.

"Are you saying that I don't have the guts for something like this," he grinned. "Hey, I've risked my life time and time again. This is nothing new. Of course I'll work with you." Oh, sure. Raise the bar if it wasn't high enough. Selece roared a laugh, amused at the moxie of the trainer.

"_**Very well. I shall join you in the battle to rescue Cephiro and Magic Knight Umi." **_Suddenly, Selece changed from the dragon it formed into a blue light and swirled around Hikaru, as did Rayearth. The joint of one more Rune God caused Hikaru to shine once more. Out of the last light, Hikaru's armor grew a little more. She had a more sizable blue breastplate and shoulder guards, a lot wider than before. Her clothing had changed, showing a longer shirt which covered most of the skirt. Still, she had the green jewels from Windam. So now, Hikaru had all three Rune Gods in her possession. The retrieval of the Rune Gods was completed and soon she and Ash will meet the Terror Gods. Ash and the creatures were awe-struck with how Hikaru looked. Too bad for Ash that he didn't get a piece of any of the Rune Gods.

"Hikaru," he shuttered. Hikaru glared at Ash, ready to return to the towers.

"Let's get back to the surface," she suggested. "I still wanna spar with you and get a feel for the other Rune Gods." With this agreement, the group returned to the vessel, heading back up to where Team Rocket was waiting. With the achievement, all that remained were the Terror Gods. What did these Terror Gods look like? Who will face Ash and the supposed new and improved Hikaru first?

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	5. Union, Three Countries andWood?

A/N: Keep the votes coming on my poll. This will be the chapter that will set the mood for the Tri-country voyage.

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Chapter 5: Union, Three Countries and...Wood?

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Rune God Selece had been acquired. Rune God Windam had been acquired. Two sources of power had been acquired...some longer time ago. On their hot-air balloon heading back to the crystal towers, Ash, Hikaru, Team Rocket and the creatures needed to get setup for their violent engagement against the mighty demons of Cephiro, the Terror Gods. Hikaru wanted to spar with Ash as means for preparation when the Terror Gods make their appearances. As the troupe flew closer with the help of Ash's and Jessie's Pokémon, Swellow and Dustox, somethings in the sky began to catch each one's interests. Three odd-looking carrier airships were descending toward the tower. One was like those magic lamps from those fantasy Arabian stories with shrubs or some sort of greenery surrounding the "handle." Another was a red dragon-style airship with a fiery mane in the back of its neck. The last ship was more of a basic battleship you would see from the oceans. "Looks like company," James stated the obvious. Hikaru studied the ships, knowing that the news of the Terror Gods were close at hand.

"Looks like there's gonna be a united meeting with Clef," she figured. To Ash, this may be the moment where confrontation of other countries would aid in stopping the demonic threats.

"Are you saying that those are the other countries that inhabit Cephiro?" he guessed.

"Yes. There mobile fortresses from the surrounding countries. The dragon ship is from Fahren. The genie lamp ship is Chizeta and the battleship is from Autozam. I think they're coming to the towers to update Clef on their statuses of each country." Ash was wanting to see what the other countries had to offer. The crew landed the balloon as close as they could from the towers without interfering with any of the ships. After they entered the towers, they paced into the throne room. Clef and the male knights turned to the returners, wanting to know about the retrieval of the Rune Gods.

"Hikaru, Ash, you've returned," Ferio joyously greeted.

"Did you get the Rune Gods?" Lafarga questioned. Ash answered with a thumbs up flick.

"Come on, guys," he chuckled. "Why doubt us?" At least Ash's attitude was positive. That's when Jessie came forward, interested with the ships of the other countries.

"Little sage," she voiced. "Did you know that the other countries were coming here?" Clef tried to understand Jessie's question, yet had to issue a warning to the redhead.

"May I advise you to show respect and address me as I am, not how I look," he scowled. "And yes, I was aware of the other countries' representatives willing to conversant with me about the situations in their countries, including the president of Autozam." Hikaru hiccuped. It was something she was hoping to avoid, according to her reaction. Ash saw that hesitant reaction, knowing that something wasn't right.

"You and this president not get along?" he wondered. Hikaru bit her lip. However, she had to explain the ordeal she had to confront herself.

"It's not quite that," she stuttered. "The president is Eagle's dad." Ash recalled the talk from their walk to the towers the first time. He remembered that Eagle was one of the competitors for the Pillar System but was killed. She was afraid to encounter Eagle's father. Clef thought of a way to ease their troubles.

"Why don't you rest in your room for right now," he suggested. "That way, I'll ease tensions with Autozam's president." Hikaru obliged. The group walked out of the room. Ash decided to return to the designated room, wanting to change for his spar with Hikaru. Team Rocket? Bet you that they've returned to Sierra. As Ash reached for the doorknob.

"Ash!" Hikaru called. Ash turned to see Hikaru, Pikachu and Mokona approaching him. What for?

"What is it, Hikaru?" he asked. "I was just about to change for our workout." Hikaru seemed to have something in mind with Ash. Probably a message from Clef?

"Ascot had told me to let you know that there were two men who've been searching for you." Someone was searching for Ash? Who? The Terror Gods? Ash was baffled. He's been in Cephiro for a reasonably short time. How could anyone know him?

"That's odd. I haven't been here for long." So who could it be? He opened the door...to an answer that would leave him scratching his scalp down to the brain. The two men...were Professors Oak and Birch. Ash was startled heavily as the professors saw him, glad to see him again.

"There you are, Ash!" Oak greeted with a smirk. Pikachu? He sprinted up to Oak, glad to see him. "We finally found you." Oh boy! Ash was shocked. How did they find him?

"Prof. Oak! Prof. Birch! What's going on?" Hikaru was speechless. She was seeing a pair of professors from Ash's world, not sure on how to react.

"What, no 'It's great to see you guys, again' deal?" Birch huffed. "And isn't Team Rocket suppose to be with you?" These professors wanted to get to the bottom of this. Hikaru stepped up, wanting to answer that part.

"They're in Presea's workshop," she replied. "But this is amazing. First, Ash and now, two of Ash's teachers? Anyone else here from your world?" Teachers? Oak and Birch scoffed laughs at the thought of being teachers. It was a nice gesture, though.

"Well, not exactly teachers, miss," Oak corrected. "We're a couple of scientists. And no, no one else came with." Ash sighed, not because no one else joined. That would be testing his mettle and it's not holding up too well. He was inkling to know how the two found Cephiro.

"So I take it you guys found the wall, too?" he pondered. If not, how else would they get here?

"We did, and figured out how you managed to vanish with Team Rocket," Birch motioned. Ash and Hikaru sat down, wanting to hear about the professors' findings...but first, the new men wanted to know who Hikaru was. "By the way, who are you?" It's time for more introductions.

"I'm Hikaru Shidou," she named herself. "I was sent here to find my friends from demons that had awakened from my actions and I'm hoping to correct." The professors acknowledged Hikaru as a friend.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Hikaru," Oak greeted. "As for what happened to bring us here..." Oak took a deep breath before restarting. "You see, Ash had returned from the Hoenn Region back in our world. He participated in the Evergrand Tournament, finishing in the Top Eight out of about 300 trainers. Quite an accomplishment, if you ask me. When he returned to Pallet Town, he was greeted with a small homecoming and told us that he was offered a chance to compete in the Battle Frontier. However, as he was helping me in my lab, Team Rocket burst through, wanting Pikachu. When Jessie ordered her Seviper to use Haze, they raced after Ash. It was after Tracy's Scyther cleared the room, we noticed Ash and Team Rocket were gone. What didn't make sense was Team Rocket leaving their balloon behind. So we searched around when Misty found that wall in question. It made me come up with a theory of what happened: Ash found that wall and asked me about it in a sense. The Haze acted as a cloud cover for Ash to make his escape with Pikachu and Team Rocket to recklessly pursue and fall through that wall. Both Birch and I wanted to know what was over there that was keeping Ash from returning. Luckily, Misty found my mountain rope. We tied one end and proceeded into the wall over to here." Were Oak and Birch professors or investigators? That's when Ash pondered something rather unreal.

"You know, I could be wrong about this," he muttered while cupping his chin. "Knowing that you guys came into Cephiro where I did, I wound up in the Forest of Silence with Team Rocket. Of course, all of us fell from quite a height and I couldn't rely on Swellow due to the magical restraint of the forest. James, Meowth, Pikachu and I managed to cushion ourselves by falling onto the branches feet first. Jessie? It's safe to say she lucked out from getting a concussion." Okay, Ash, where are you going with this? Whatever it was, the professors were showing guilty looks. Ash saw those looks, knowing what exactly happened. "I thought so." It had taken a moment for Hikaru to get where Ash was pointing to.

"Rope too short?" she grumbled. The reply? Both professors slapped themselves in the back of their heads.

"Rope too short," they confirmed in sheepish unison. That's something Ash wouldn't let off the hook. That's when there was a knock on the door. Was it someone here to inform Hikaru? As she answered the knocking, Ash resumed his grilling on Oak and Birch.

"So, I take it that Clef had informed you on the situation going on?" he quietly continued.

"He did," Birch spoke. "Four demons, three visiting nations, two missing Magic Knights, one sorceress under their spell..."

"If you add it all up, it would seem as though the Terror Gods want to use Alcyone to block access to their world and put the remaining warriors in the hot seat," Oak finished. Nice way to put it.

"Pretty much the basis," Ash accepted their answer. He gazed back at Hikaru, talking to Ascot about something. Ash shot back to the professors. "Say, is that rope sticking out from the sky?" Oak bobbed a nod. Ash seemed glad that he would escape Cephiro... "Okay, you and Team Rocket can dash back to Pallet." Or not. Oak and Birch were rather stunned. Ash wanted the professors to take his adversaries back home. "Call it a premonition of things to come. You see, I'm needed here. The Battle Frontier can wait until this gets resolved." He got up, grabbing his staff.

"First time that you've used the word 'premonition.'" Ash didn't show much exuberance to that little piece.

"Just looking out for your well being...and I'd rather see James in better shape over there than here." James, not Jessie or Meowth? "I'll be training, so excuse me." He exited the room, passing by Hikaru and Ascot...and leaving Oak and Birch dumbfounded. Nice... In that nature room, Ash was working out with that staff, swinging wildly. Hey, at least he won't hit anybody, right? He was starting to fancy some unique swinging with purposely fumbling the staff, sweeping his leg to catch one end of the staff to kick it up, having it roll his arm, snagging it and finishing with a down-strike. Fancy footwork or reckless rod revolt? He went undisturbed for a while. Suddenly...

"Well, aren't you the inspiration of a balancing act?" a female teased with a southern accent. Caldina? Ash turned to the noise, eying a tanned reddish-brunette pony-tailed woman in a red bikini and skimpy undergarment, holding a gold shield and sword. "I've heard from that chief of sorcery, Clef, about what happened to the other knights. It's sad to hear about what happened to Umi." Ash gazed upon the new figure.

"Are you the representative from Fahren or Chizeta?" She pointed her sword at Ash, wanting to get a battle going.

"Neither, though I am the sister of this representative of Chizeta. I am Tarta, second princess." Second princess? How did that work?

"Ash Ketchum, Pokémon trainer and new ally to Hikaru Shidou." He rose his staff parallel to the grass in a defensive state. Tarta seemed befuddled with the new word for her.

"Pokémon? I don't know what the hell you're babbling about." If Pikachu or Meowth were there... "But if there's any way I'm getting along with a man, it's an absolute mirage!" She leaped high into the air, her sword over her head in the motion of a tomahawk. Ash braced for impact. VOOM! Out of the blue, A giant of a man came in, snagging Tarta out of the sky in a bear hug. Ash was saved from harm. The giant raven-haired man in green dropped Tarta, allowing her to plop onto her tush. Needless to say how upset Tarta was. "Dammit! I didn't need someone from Autozam to interfere!" Autozam? Was this Eagle's dad?

"Gee, thanks, uh?"

"The name's Geo," he introduced himself. "Geo Metro. I was Eagle Vision's second in command." Any relation to Eagle? "I came as company with Zazu for Falcon Vision, Eagle's father and the president of Autozam." Just a friend. Ash acknowledged Geo's demeanor. Tarta, on the other hand? Not so much.

"How dare you!" she bellowed as she made a beeline to Geo. She attempted a thrust. Geo sidestepped it. Miss. The sword and her momentum started to carry her over to Ash. He didn't sidestep but swatted the sword from nailing him with his staff. Tarta swung back, only to be blocked with Ash's staff. Ash had a chance to show what he was made of. He tried to poke Tarta, only to be denied by her shield. "Ah, a quick study. Never got aroused by a man who can fight back before." Was Tarta hitting on Ash? They leaped back a couple of feet, squaring off each other. They wouldn't attempt another strike.

"That's enough, you two. Our main concern is the demons." Tarta growled, being denied access to work with Ash. And she was getting turned on, too.

"Hey, give me one good reason to bar us from a spar? I may show you that we need no stinking Magic Knight to battle these horrid beasts." That's because the Magic Knights have been captured.

"You are aware that there's still one Magic Knight on our side, right?" Ash pointed out. The two glared at Ash, stunned about this news.

"Only...one?" Tarta muttered. Yep, no Umi and Fuu.

"It's true, amazon princess," snorted another female. All turned to see Clef and a few others. One was like Tarta, only wearing a yellow brassier and transparent yellow pants. Her hair was more bowed open. There was a small raven-haired girl who wore white all over her face. She wore a red kimono while appearing just a few inches shorter than Clef. The last one was a real tall, snow white-haired man in green, The wrinkled face sported a graying goatee while wearing a green robe and slacks. These had to be the representatives of the countries which surround Cephiro. Geo bowed down to the one in green.

"President Vision, I was preventing spite amongst individuals," he groveled for understanding. President? That's Falcon Vision? Knowing that respect was imminent, Ash bowed to a knee as well. Tarta remained standing, not flinched with who happened to drop by.

"There's no need to grovel, young one," he proclaimed with a hand raised. Ash and Geo rose onto their feet, relieved that Falcon understood Geo's claim.

"Master Clef, what's going on?" Ash questioned.

"At least you know how to respect, more than Jessie," Clef huffed. "Anyway, I had a hunch that you would be here and wanted to introduce you to the representatives: Falcon Vision of Autozam, Lady Aska of Fahren and Tatra of Chizeta. It would seem that you've met her little sister." Oh, that could explain that second princess issue.

"Little but pretty feisty." Tarta smirked at Ash's remark.

"Sis, why must you pick fights with someone new without your Djinn?" Tatra, who also shared a southern accent but with a variable flirt, scorned. All Tarta did was growl at her sister. Ash walked to and greeted the representatives. He didn't act up about Aska's shortness.

"It's great to meet you." Aska giggled to how cute Ash had acted.

"You're a lot bolder than Sanyun," she hummed. "Say, is it possible for you to be my emperor back in Fahren? You're more suitable for the position than Chang Ang." Ash huffed a chuckle, amused at her attempt. Quickly, he retained composure to address the situation.

"So, I take it you've heard about Umi and Fuu missing, right?" Tarta was shocked. The representatives acknowledged the point.

"Wait!" Tarta gulped. "Umi's been captured?"

"I'm afraid so, Tarta," Tatra answered. "There was nothing we could do." It's sad but it was truthful. Tarta gritted to the news of someone she knew was gone. He turned to Falcon, knowing that he had to still be grieving from the loss of his son, Eagle.

"Mr. President," he spoke to. "I'm...I'm sorry for your loss." Falcon shook his head, a sign that there was no need for remorse.

"There is no need for such mourning," he eased. "He was an ambitious young man who would've been better at home. He came to achieve the Pillar despite an incurable illness." He would've died either way. "I have already punished Geo and Zazu for allowing my son to chase the Pillar." Well, no need to address that. "Right now, we need to converse on the raids that are about to take place in our countries." True enough. It was the demons, the Terror Gods, that Ash had to picture on.

"About those demons, does anyone know of what they look like?" That's a really good question, Ash. It was never discussed before. Clef waved his arm across the air where a 3-D image popped up. One was a gray giant bird, feathers looking rather metallic. It appeared to be a crossover of a pterodactyl and a hawk.

"This is the Terror God of Autozam, Pteroblade," Clef identified. "It may look like any machine or vehicle hybrid that you may find in Autozam but this is a demon regardless. One thing it never does is land, so you may be able to find its weakness with some time and precise strategy, although you are an avid trainer who thinks on your feet, according to Hikaru's knowledge." Thanks for taking notes, Hikaru.

"History depicts that Pteroblade was created a few hundred years ago, used to monitor any crimes that it would report to HQ on the second's notice," Falcon added. "However, there had been theories that it was possessed by a demonic spirit, looking for a powerful weapon. Yet there was one theory that it was a demon dismantled only to be recreated by someone who had no intent or idea about the real history of the fiend. With the vanishing of the Pillar System, the seal of its immobilization was released." In other words, when it was built, it was active. Who was/were the idiots? Then, there was another 3-D image. This one looked to be a blackish heavy-set lion, its fur engulfed in a midnight blue fire and fangs of a saber-tooth tiger.

"This is the Terror God of Farhen, Haechaen. Haechaen is the evil twin of Haetowe, whom he killed to gain power for chaos, at least some historians proclaimed." Okay, Aska, what's your take?

"Fahren is known for its mythical tales, but this 'mythical' creature was the real deal, at least to my grandpa," she enlisted. "When the Pillar System was created, the princess locked the beast away to sleep with the other Terror Gods. Without the Pillar System, now, it's only a matter of time before destruction to the country becomes a reality." Not much else? Then, a third image entered. This one...pretty disturbing. It was some sort of wild dog with short ears and pincers for arms. Its tail? A snake/scorpion mix. The tail had the scales of a snake but the stinger at the end was of a scorpion's hooked needle.

"This is the Terror God of Chizeta, Ak-gholun." That's a tongue-twister. "Ak-gholun derives from the sands of the country. It had been told in Chizetan folklore that this Terror God was summoned by a twisted vizier to overrule the country when it was stung with its potent poison." What a way to go.

"Ak-gholun is a hybrid of a hyena, snake and scorpion," Tatra explained. "Because of the mixture of both toxin-filled creatures, it would take seconds for one sting to put you in dire straights. The only way we were safe was, of course, the Pillar System." Easy enough...

"Now, it's only moments from rising from its prison and endangers the villagers back home," Tarta wrapped up. "It's only worse without the other Magic Knights to aid us. Sure, there's that redhead, but how can one Magic Knight stop three powerful Terror Gods without help." Ash scoffed, almost acting as if that notion was nothing to be so worked up about.

"Well, you are forgetting about me, right?" he huffed, acting a little too cocky to believe the truth. Even Tarta saw through this lie.

"Excuse me, but what can _you_ do? Sure, you're a quick study, but with that and these...Pokémon you have, there's no way you'd survive 20 seconds against one, let alone all of the Terror Gods." Ouch. Tarta really let Ash know that he would be screwed over. However, he was about to get unexpected backup.

"Don't sell the twerp short, now," Jessie voiced while entering the scene, an ax strapped to her back. "I've seen him battle and he's no spur of the moment snafu. He works with his Pikachu and others and can think upon areas where few have traversed." Nice intrigue. All, including Ash, were astonished that Jessie was defending someone she didn't appreciate looking after.

"This is an odd behavior from you," he hiccuped. Jessie knew that, but insisted that she had a reason for such.

"Well, I'm not doing this because I need you to help us return home. I'm making my saying because I'm a witness to see you in the heat." In other words, don't get the wrong idea. "You may dismiss him for being a little on the soft side, but he battles like his friends are the most important to him. Heck, if he does have great power like the Rune Gods say he has, you may be looking at him in a far different meaning." Ash became humbled with Jessie's claim. Hikaru, overhearing this conversation, became more and more fascinated that Ash would have more power than her and the Rune Gods that they had recently acquired.

"While this may be factual, he needs to summon that power to aid Hikaru out," Geo doubted. Ash became bounded between someone who hated him and someone who defended him in opposing actions. That's when he backtracked to the Terror Gods. Something was missing.

"Well, what about the last Terror God?" he asked. "Is there any info on that one?" Clef frowned, shaking his head. No known idea?

"Unfortunately, there is no knowledge of the last one," he murmured. No knowledge? Did the last one even exist? "The last one had been kept far under our noses that we have no description of what it would appear to be. However, it does exist and may be the head of the Terror Gods, being far more powerful than the other three." Yet, how could Ash or anyone else know what to look out for? The talk had gone for another hour, weaning to the late hours. That night, Ash remained in that nature room, thinking about the conversation with the other representatives. Pikachu and Meowth watched, unsure of how to approach Ash with this nature that he was feeling. That's when Oak entered the area, spotting Ash.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, Ash?" he broke the silence. Ash turned to the good professor, interested to know his reason for stopping by. "I heard from Master Mage Clef about the nightmare that you had and about Team Rocket eating the big one." Ash frustratedly sighed, knowing that he needed to tell Oak about that nightmare.

"Prof. Oak, Clef acknowledged that nightmare as a reason to help Hikaru against these fiends," he portrayed. "I know I can simply return and prepare for the Battle Frontier, but this feels a little more important to the note that I can protect you, Prof. Birch, my friends and my Pokémon from them." It was still a bit hard for Oak to stomach.

"Then you know what happens if you fail?" He had to if he was willing to go and gamble his life against the demons. "This isn't like back on Shamouti Isle or Greenfield or even anything else." No, because this was a lot bigger of a deal. "You lose, there's no reset button to where you see the mistake and change it." Ash fluffed a nod.

"I do. But it may also be where Gary sees me best. He told me during our match back in the Silver Conference, 'What'll it be, Ash? You've been pretty good thinking outside the box when you have to.' This is as far outside the box as I could ever imagine. This is where I'm practically natural." Wow. That was a pretty strong point. Oak huffed a chuckle, amused with Ash's retort.

"I never thought my grandson would be your influence." Yeah, go figure. "Well, I'll be back in the guest room." On that note, Oak retreated. Ash remained inside as Pikachu and Meowth wondered why he needed to stay. That's when Primera entered the scene, appearing panicked.

"Ash, I found you!" she shrieked. Ash spotted the fairy, wanting to know what was going on with her.

"Primera, what's up?" he questioned.

"Hikaru's having a nightmare! Go and help her!" Why Ash? Why not Clef?

"Why me?"

"You're closer by. You're the first person I found." Easy enough excuse. No time to waste, Ash bolted to seek Hikaru. It may not be a nightmare, but a flashback of when this Eagle had died. Or it may have been another trick by Primera. She sneered at the foolhardy trainer, making the Pokémon think it was another ploy. "Phase two: Shared Pillow underway." You've got to give credit to Primera for tenacity. It was another shot for Primera to hookup Ash and Hikaru. Even Meowth was a bit skeptical about Primera's motives.

"Phase two?" Meowth repeated in question. Primera's secret was exposed. Still, she yanked to the cat and mouse, acting real nonchalant to the ordeal.

"Yeah, phase two! I want to be by Lantis's side and getting Hikaru to fall for Ash!" Gee, tell that to the whole world, why don't you? To Pikachu and Meowth, the gig was up.

("Guess the cat's outta the bag with her,") Pikachu sighed. ("No offense, Meowth.")

"None taken," Meowth allowed. That's when Primera realized her mistake. Oops... Ash made it to Hikaru's room, shouldering the door open.

"Hikaru!" he shouted. Hikaru, in bed oddly enough, was awakened from the door being knocked open. They gazed at each other, Ash wondering if Hikaru was okay and Hikaru wondering what Ash was doing in her room. If the bath scene was a prelude of things to come, this was about to blow over to another spectrum. Hikaru, in a pink nightgown, seemed out of it as if she had a few drinks to help her sleep. She stumbled out of her bed and swayed toward Ash. Wonder if Primera was responsible for this? She wrapped her arms around Ash's neck. She inched forward, little by little, to his face. Was this the moment that Primera wished? Just one more inch...SPLASH! A bucket of water was dumped onto Ash and Hikaru, soaking them both. That stirred Hikaru awake. Who would douse the two? How about..?

"Lantis?!" Hikaru hollered. Not only Lantis, but James scratching his head, trying to wonder what might have happened if not for the two.

"I'll tell you, any closer and I think any adverse effects would take place," James sighed. Like what?

"Pikachu had warned me about what Primera was plotting," Lantis grumbled. "It's a good thing James was bringing water to the workshop." Ash and Hikaru were proud of the coincidental cross and Pikachu's heads-up.

"Thanks, you guys," Ash praised, though dampened literally. James scoffed a chuckle.

"I'll make sure Primera is punished. You two get some rest. You've got hectic battles ahead of you." For sure. Lantis walked off without another word.

"Remember what I said about Primera during the bath incident?" he asked to Hikaru. There was no more need to be apprehensive about Primera anymore.

"I think Primera wants to shoo me away from Lantis and seek you," she figured. The basic reason. Right now, the need of sleep was required.

"Yeah. Hey, I'll see you in the morn-" Ash's words and one step were halted when Hikaru snagged his arm. Ash gazed at Hikaru, wondering what the deal was. She quivered a bit. Something about this began to concern the trainer. "Hikaru?" What bothered her?

"It's...It's not the same." What's not the same? "Is it- Is it alright if you stay with me tonight?" Ash and James were befuddled. She wanted Ash to stay in her room for the night. Was it that she was without Umi and Fuu by her side? That's what Ash pondered.

"Your buddies were with you a hundred percent, weren't they?" Could it be that Hikaru was a teenage lesbian? Hikaru clutched harder, confirming Ash's allegation. "Well, I guess it's okay."

"Thank you, Ash." Maybe Primera's mischievous actions did the trick. Still, she should be getting a consequential lashing from Lantis. That's when James dug into his pocket and yanked out a small foiled packet. He tossed it to Ash who felt an elastic substance.

"A condom?" James, what scheme are you planning?

"Just in case," he said as he walked off, allowing the two kids to possibly bond with each other. With Ash's shrug of his shoulders, both he and Hikaru entered her room. Hopefully, they dry off before getting into bed. With the Terror Gods on the brink of being free to reign chaos, will Ash and Hikaru be prepared for the biggest set of battles in their lives? Autozam, Chizeta and Fahren won't be in peace for long.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	6. Chizeta, Sandbox Country, Hybrid Demon

_Chapter 6: Chizeta, Sandbox Country and the Hybrid Demon

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_

The morning rose. This was the morning where Ash and Hikaru were starting the Cephiro defense against the Terror Gods. The bedroom beamed light from the outside sun. Hikaru awoke to see Ash, sleeping like a baby. It was like that nightmare was taking no effect. Was it because he was with Hikaru? If so, why didn't it work with Misty? Could his warning to Profs. Oak and Birch and Team Rocket stave the nightmare off? Hikaru palmed and felt the silky soft bare chest and stomach. She was getting a good feel. Before long, Ash became aroused from his sleep. His eyes opened to the still-wrapped condom, undisturbed. No bang-bang nite this night. "That was a lot better," he happily groaned. He turned to Hikaru, a beaming smirk telling each other that they had a good night last night. "Do I need to ask?" Probably not. After hopping out of bed, Ash excused himself to allow Hikaru to freshen up. He retreated to his room, Pikachu greeting his entrance. "Morning, Pikachu." He looked around, eying Jessie and James still sleeping in the bed while Meowth was joined by a wonky blue punching bag with squarish arms. "Okay, Team Rocket's still out. Where's the professors?" Someone had to know.

("They're in Sierra's shop,") Pikachu replied. Why there? Ash closed the door, allowing Team Rocket to get their bed rest. They proceeded into the throne room, Clef not appearing. Where could he be?

"That's weird. Shouldn't the Master Mage be here?" You could check the workshop. Hikaru was finally dressed and joined Ash, also noting Clef's absence.

"It must be one of those great whiles of his," she believed. One of those whiles? Was Clef asleep?

"So, nothing really to worry about?" No guidance today. "Well, if anything, he could wish us good luck. We got some demons to exercise." Ash acted psyched for the upcoming battles. There was one good question ready to be addressed.

"Okay, hunky hotshot trainer, where do we go?" It was quite the option. Autozam, Fahren or Chizeta?

"Let's tackle Chizeta, first. I'd want to eliminate that Ak-gholun before it causes major havoc." A decision. Hikaru decided to acknowledge his choice.

"Chizeta, it is. I'll go warn the sisters." Hikaru dashed off as Ash raced back to the room to retrieve his staff. About a couple of hours later, Team Rocket, Professors Oak and Birch, Tatra and Tarta joined Ash, Pikachu and Hikaru outside for final preparations. Those preparations included evacuating the professors as well as Jessie, James and Meowth.

"Are you sure you wanna do this, twerp?" Jessie questioned Ash's idea. "I get that you wanna prevent that nightmare from happening, but aren't you aware of what may go on when we get back to Pallet?" Ash was more concerned about the professors than you.

"You mean going into that firestorm of my friends?" he sneered. "Yeah, I'm aware." He knew that Misty, Tracy and anyone else would protect his Pokémon. This prompted Oak to step up.

"Ash, I know that you've got a long road ahead of you in stopping these demons," he acknowledged. "You probably don't necessarily need this, but...be careful, Ash." Oak and Birch shared their worries about losing someone like Ash.

"I will." With that exchange, the group peeled away, Ash, Hikaru and the princesses in that genie lamp-style mobile fortress and Team Rocket and the professors in the hot-air balloon back home. Inside the fortress, Tatra and Tarta had a dilemma on hand as scores of females in yellow turbans, bikinis and pants looked on. What could it be? The Terror God? The country's condition?

"Tatra, I don't think we have any outfit for a man," Tarta pointed out. No male outfits? Tatra realized that their arrival at Chizeta was in a bit of jeopardy.

"I know we had the outfit Umi wore when we captured her," Tatra remembered. "I'm pretty sure that there's something for Hikaru." She turned to Hikaru, interested to know if she would be wanting to wear the outfit her great friend, Umi was gowned in. "Since an outfit is required, I'll have you join Tarta to dress for our arrival back home and to our sultan." A sultan? Male? If an outfit was needed, Hikaru had to rely on the first impression.

"Okay," she agreed as she and Tarta walked off to get changed. Wanting to know what it may be like, Pikachu raced over to join Hikaru...only to be picked up by Tatra.

"And where do you think you're going?" Pikachu watched on as Hikaru and Tarta disappeared. "I've got a special outfit for you that you're gonna love." Oh, sure. You have one for Pikachu but not for Ash? "I'll need two guards to search for an outfit for Ash." Finally, someone could get Ash something appropriate to wear.

"There's no need," one guard gasped as she dashed back with a turban, vest and pants. That was fast. She gave the clothes to Ash, telling him that this was what the guard wanted to wear.

"Thanks," Ash praised as he ran off to get uniformed up. After a few minutes, Ash came out, bare feet stepping the hallway floor. The white turban fit his head so well, no hair was shown. The vest appeared to be a tad small on him as the flaps only reached passed his pecs. The pants were pretty puffy, a lot of room to flex his legs. He had to criticize the choice of clothing Chizeta had ordered.

"Well, how does it feel?" Tatra asked. Taking a good look into Ash's eyes, he may not want to wear it for long.

"Like I'm in some Nintendo game, helping you stay guarded." What Nintendo game would that be? Tatra was amused with his humor as Pikachu came out with just a black vest.

"You're not the only one who thinks Chizeta is violating copyright laws," Hikaru agreed as she reappeared. Instead of the schoolgirl uniform, she was in a red tiara with a ruby attachment, loose brassier midriff and red puffy pants with red slippers. What did she mean? "I look like Princess Jasmine in red." A reference to Aladdin?

"Oh, come on," Tatra teased. "You two look wonderful." To Hikaru, she looked ridiculous. To Ash, he felt abstract. The fortress arrived over a small village with a palace in the back. The palace had towers with brass bulbs on the top which surrounded the large structure. The group strolled through the village, working their way through and reaching the palace as villagers gawked and bowed to a knee in respect of the princesses. They entered the palace. "Advise our moth- I mean the Sultan of our arrival." Hold on...did she almost say mother? The bodyguard that was addressed obliged, racing ahead. Still, could it be that the Sultan was Tatra's and Tarta's own mother? The group proceeded forward, entering the throne room. There, a large redhead tanned female, looking rather young but very thin sat upon the throne. She was in a white brassier with puffy white pants herself.

"Ladies and gentleman," the guard announced. "I present Tanya, Sultan of Chizeta!" Tatra, Tarta, Ash and Hikaru bowed to their knee each in respect of the Sultan.

"Mother, we've returned with a Magical Knight," Tarta relayed. Tanya observed the two who were behind her daughters, mostly on Hikaru.

"Only one?" she expressed her displeasure.

"Yes, mother," Tatra defended her sister. "The other knights have been captured and taken to places undisclosed." Tanya bit her lip, concerned that only one would not be enough to thwart Ak-gholun.

"With that demon waking, this cannot bode well. How is one Magical Knight suppose to stop Ak-gholun?" That's when Hikaru stood up, willing to defy Tanya's doubts.

"I have more than their shared powers," she explained while turning to Ash. "You see, he's my new partner. He may look young and a bit inexperienced, but he possesses great powers and potential." You think Tanya was intrigued? She was. She twisted to Ash, still bowing.

"Please, stand." Obeying the higher up, Ash got to his feet. Tanya observed Ash a bit more, liking something from him. "My late husband had the same tone and bravery that you have, if not more fearlessness. Perhaps the chances of ridding the demon are a bit better." The Sultan was a widow. Suddenly, another bodyguard burst into the room, urgently feared.

"Your majesty, Ak-gholun is approaching the village!" she bellowed. Everyone gasped at the news. The mixture demon was close. Tanya had a plan for the arrival.

"Tatra, Tarta, use your djinns to aid the Magical Knight and her handsome partner."

"Yes, mother," her daughters agreed in unison. Hikaru and Ash led the charge with the sisters trailing. They exited the palace and eventually the village to the desert. Sure enough, the snake/scorpion mixed tail sticking over dunes had to come from the Terror God, Ak-gholun. It found the village with the male and females blocking the entrance. Ak-gholun was huge. It was like the description of the hybrid.

""This thing's uglier up close," Ash stuttered. No kidding. Not one to mess around with. Ak-gholun scented around, picking up Hikaru's smell.

"_**Ah, so you're the last Magical Knight running free, aren't you?"**_ it acknowledged. **_"My orders were to capture you for Master Fang, not kill you. Everyone else is up to my discretion."_** It was pretty straightforward.

"Thanks for letting us know what you desire," Tarta growled. "Too bad you won't have a shot." The weapons were drawn.

"We're gonna need a few minutes, so make sure to keep it off our backs, alright?" Tatra shyly requested. In true Japanese animated style, Ash, Pikachu and Hikaru collapsed in dismay onto the sands. Ak-gholun opened its fangs, willing to snatch and smash its enemies. As Ash and Hikaru braced to intercept Ak-gholun, Charles Woodson style, the princess sisters started dancing in some sort of choreographed duet salsa.

"Power of Windam!" Hikaru chanted, making her red orb change to green. "If Tatra and Tarta want a barricade, I've got the perfect cover. Winds of Protection!" The orb began to billow winds, circling around the allies. The winds kicked up the sands, clouding the humans and Pikachu. Ak-gholun saw this as a feeble attempt.

"_**Foolish Magical Knight,"**_ it gawked in such a cocky attitude. **_"This sandstorm will do no good"_** It swung its tail at the swirling mix of sand and vicious air. Just as the tail reached the shield, a pair of arms emerged from the shield, catching the tail before the strike. The red and blue arms punctured the shield. When the winds settled, the arms were jointed by what appeared to be genies. Were these the djinns?

"Thanks for the stall," Tatra praised. Now the heaven seven (four humans, two djinns and Pikachu) faced off against Ak-gholun. "Rasheen!"

"Rakoon," Tarta joined. The djinns hovered ahead of the trainer and knight. Ak-gholun flung its stinger at the djinns. The genie-beings split, letting the stinger hit and spray sand. That stinger had enough force to pierce about half a dozen rhinos.

"That...is power," Ash hushed. Some power. "You don't wanna be hit with that and be crushed, less poisoned." The djinns came back around, looking for a fresh attack. For some reason, Pikachu leaped off of Ash, boarding the red djinn. "Pikachu, what are you doing?" Ak-gholun looked up at the djinns, unaware of the mouse on board. Regardless, the demon leaped into the air, a pincer ready to grab. The blue djinn swept down and gave Ak-gholun a punch to the snout. Pikachu back flipped off the other djinn, it's tail glowing white. The tail swing...BAM! Ak-gholun got its face rearranged...and dirtied. "Nice Iron Tail, Pikachu!" The red djinn came around and picked Pikachu from the air. Without any thought, that tail flew skyward, ready to strike. The blue djinn saw the oncoming tail, jumping in the way to intercept the deadly weapon. However, the blue djinn was crushed under the massive snake tail as the red djinn with Pikachu cleared from the tail's impact. Tarta felt a massive sting in her chest, getting the same pain as the blue djinn and fell to her knees. She screeched in agony as if she was flattened by the tail.

"Tarta!" Tatra gasped. Ash retreated to treat Tarta of any injuries. He realized that the blue djinn was Tarta's djinn, Rakoon.

"You okay?" Tarta gazed at her new male friend, remembering her gold circular shield attached to her back.

"If Rakoon recovers, I'll be back," she cringed. "Meantime, protect everyone." She handed her shield to Ash, who promised to do so. Ak-gholun dug its stinger to the sands and loaned strength to the tail as the stinger found a solid spot. That's when it catapulted itself into the Chizetan air. Head's up! Hikaru remembered that she had Windam's power. She hadn't revert back to Rayearth.

"Emerald Typhoon!" she bellowed as she punched thin air. A blast of air struck Ak-gholun, but it remained defiant on the way down. Rasheen, the red djinn, entered the wind blast to see if that could boost an attack. Ak-gholun saw Rasheen, jarring its jaws open. Snack time! Rasheen smacked into the snout and get chomped on, Tatra feeling Rasheen's pain. Ash turned to Tatra then Ak-gholun, knowing something not quite right. He also realized that Ak-gholun was coming at Hikaru and raced ahead, Tarta's shield strapped to his arm.

"Look out!" he yelled. Hikaru stopped, figuring that Windam's power wasn't working. Desperate, Ash dove and tackled Hikaru, pulling the both of them under Ak-gholun as it crashed into the desert grounds. Ash and Hikaru were beneath the Terror God.

"_**Mere human,"** _it growled. _**"You seem to pounce on what I am able to perform and aid the lone knight. Tell me, who are you in the opposition to the Terror Gods?"**_ Ash wasn't about to let Ak-gholun get his information.

"You think it's gonna matter? When we're done, your friends are next." Ak-gholun was a bit amused with Ash's defiance.

"_**Spunk. That's what fuels your attitude." **_Ak-gholun brought its tail to where Ash and Hikaru were. Hikaru had to get her sword out, knowing that she was still tapped to Windam.

"Power of Rayearth," she muttered under her breath. Her orb became red again and she drew her sword. Ash had something else up his vest...or on top of Ak-gholun, at least.

"So it does," he sneered. "And it seems that your willing to inject your venom into us."

"_**So, you see your doom,"**_ Ak-gholun snickered. **_"That way, I'll take the Magical Knight with me to Fang. Do you have any last words?"_** Too soon for Ash to bite the big one.

"Sadly, I only got one." He hoped that Pikachu was ready for the call. "Thunderbolt!" Pikachu peeked out of the demon's fur, hearing Ash's command. It unleashed a massive bolt of electricity, zapping Ak-gholun. The demon tried to fight the voltage, retraining its tail to locate Pikachu. Pikachu spotted the stinger, ready to puncture him. Down came the stinger. Pikachu leaped back a bit as the stinger hit...the user, Ak-gholun. That cannot feel good. Ak-gholun roared out in pain, feeling the potent venom course into its veins. Hikaru got her footing and raced out the back, or tail end. Ash got up himself and tried to beat feet too as Ak-gholun started to fall. After Ash cleared from under the demon, Ak-gholun hit the beach. Wasting little time, Hikaru cleaved the tail from the back. The demon roared louder from the slicing as the tail spewed green liquids from the point of separation. That must be the venom. The stinger remained embedded in the demon's back, flopping around like a fish out of water. Come to think of it, does Chizeta have any bodies of water around their country? Pikachu and Hikaru regrouped with Ash.

"You had that planned the whole time, didn't you?" Hikaru sneered. Ash snickered, a strategist's ploy perfected.

"Let's just say Pikachu and I know where each other happens to be." Tatra and Tarta were astounded with Ash's quickness in feet and mentality.

"_**I must say, human," **_Ak-gholun groaned as it slowly got back to its legs. **_"You do not possess the powers of a Magical Knight, less the magic that they wield, yet...to use your lightning mouse as a bait to sting me with my own venom is impressive, albeit that I'm immune to my own poison."_** Well, with no tail to sting and inject, it won't poison anyone else. _**"But don't think for a fraction that you've won. I may have no tail...but that doesn't mean I can't kill!"**_ Ak-gholun flung the tail from its back, striking Ash and knocking him to the sands and pinned under the massive snake's tail. It would get worse. As if it had life of its own, the tail coiled up and wrapped Ash. Ash was trapped and even though there was no poison to use, that may not matter. Ak-gholun was quick to his next move as it snagged Hikaru in its pincers. Tatra and Tarta were still feeling the effects of their djinns getting pummeled. **_"Now, Magic Knight, it's time for your reunion with your friends for the final time."_**

"Hikaru!" Ash struggled to free himself but the more he tried to open the wrap, the tighter it coiled down. Suddenly, his eyes shifted colors from normal brown...to dark violet. This can't be good. In a moment of superhuman strength, Ash pushed the coil so hard, the tail was shredded into chunks of scales. That should make a few designer purses. As he got back onto his feet, a dark transparent flame engulfed Ash. Ak-gholun felt the sudden surge of energy and turned to Ash, pulsing with the darkened rage. Ash approached Ak-gholun slowly.

"_**This power...this energy that radiates inside of you. This...is nothing that I cannot handle!"**_ It swung its free pincer like a punch. Ash nonchalantly blocked it with an open hand. **_"What?!"_** It was about to get more vicious. In a flash, a pulse struck the pincer and completely destroyed it into a million pieces. Ak-gholun was more startle and scared than in pain. It still had its prize. _**"Listen, I came for what I was ordered. I won't stay."**_ In sheer defiance, Ash slapped a palm on the demon's head.

"I know," he scorned with a darker, yet slightly feminist of a voice. That's when something inside Ak-gholun started to grow at an alarming rate. That's when...KABOOM! Ak-gholun exploded, releasing Hikaru who was thrown clear from the pulsing blast. Ash stood there as Ak-gholun...or its remains were sent back to be scattered in many heaps. When the flash dimmed, Ash still was in place, unaffected from the boom. Ak-gholun, the Terror God of Chizeta was dead. Ash turned to Hikaru, getting to her feet, and began to walk over, the fire still "burning" his anger.

"Ash?" she called out. No response. Hikaru had to think of something. She spotted Pikachu. Would his partner be the answer? "Pikachu, your Thunderbolt!" Pikachu fired another blast of electricity, zapping Ash...but the electricity wasn't taking effect at all.

("Not good!") it shrieked. He reached Hikaru and put a hand onto her forehead. Hikaru was about to die. That's when Ash lowered his hand onto her shoulder. What's going on? He dipped onto his knees and practically bowed as he clutched his head while the fire diminished. Ash was back to normal but he acted as if something was going bonkers in his head.

"My...head," he groaned. Tatra and Tarta got up and rejoined the other two, trying to wonder what was wrong with Ash. What came out of Ash to go all destructive? The power that was displayed...was that one of the powers the Rune Gods and Clef were concerned about? This dark explosion of power? Could this play a role in battling the other Terror Gods? In that aspect, the final Terror God's name, Fang. Who could that be?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Rion and Hiki, Ash's Yin and Yang

_Chapter 7: Rion and Hiki, Ash's Yin and Yang

* * *

_

Ak-gholun had been vanquished, Chizeta was returned to peace and the Terror Gods were down one demon. This would be a time to celebrate if not for a certain circumstance. No, not that Pteroblade, Haechaen or the unknown Fang have caused too much havoc yet. In the mobile fortress heading back to the Cephiro mainland, Hikaru, Pikachu and Tatra watched over Ash, sleeping after the fight in the desert country. What happened was that Ash's body was temporarily borrowed by a darkened force which completely destroyed the demonic hybrid, protecting the girls but losing control of himself. Before any more damage was done, Ash returned to normal. Ash began to wake up, a good sign for Hikaru and Pikachu. "Good morning," he groaned. Tatra acknowledged the tone as a sign that he was returning to his senses. Hikaru, back in her armor, leaned down and hugged the bare-chested trainer, only wearing his jeans.

"Please don't do that again," she wept a bit. Ash acted a little oblivious and stunned with her compassion.

"Again?" Tatra decided to get him back up to date.

"You awakened a dark spirit inside of you and turned our Terror God into mincemeat," she explained. Ash was a bit surprised that he may have done some major damage to their first demon. He suddenly had a recollection.

"Yeah, I remember being tied up with that snake tail and wishing I had the power to rescue Hikaru. Before I knew it, I was consumed in this realm of darkness, watching myself fight Ak-gholun and approaching Hikaru. I fought my way back and may have exhausted myself." That would explain why he was asleep. Suddenly, Tatra began to rub on Ash's mid-section, possibly aroused with how smooth his skin was even though they had been playing in the sands. Of course, she was applying a gel-like substance on there. "And I thought you were admiring how soft my ribs are." Tatra giggled, admired with Ash's quirky honesty.

"I do. This should help restore your stamina. You may be young but don't go burning yourself out."

"Oh, thanks." Needless to say how relieved Ash felt with that on him.

"We should be back to meet with Master Mage Clef, soon enough," Hikaru updated. Ash bobbed the news, knowing that he had to get ready to see him once more. About an hour later, Ash, Pikachu, Hikaru and Tatra were in the throne room with Clef, the males and Sierra.

"Ash, I've felt the power from Chizeta," Clef allowed an explanation. "It would mean that your energies are starting to awaken." Ash nodded to Clef, saying that it was true.

"I do apologize for endangering Hikaru," he confessed while dipping his head.

"There's no need to grovel about your performance," Ferio tried to cheer up. Ash turned to the green-haired, wondering why the denial. "You acted out of strength to stop the Terror God from advancing to the kingdom and endangering Sultan Tanya. Perhaps your powers can be controlled." This became a confidence booster for Ash. If he could control these powers inside of him, he'd be unstoppable.

"Thanks, Ferio." He turned back to Clef. "What about Fahren and Autozam? Any word on their conditions?" Clef frowned, fearing that something bad had occurred.

"I can only hope there's time to save both countries like Chizeta," he murmured. Sierra saw the concerned face on Clef, beginning to worry about him. "For right now, you should rest for your next outing, preferably Autozam. The technology would be to your liking, Ash." Ash accepted Clef's plan of attack, thus throwing a nod to the great sorcerer. After the briefing, Ash stepped out of the towers, no sweat-tee or hat. He had time to store those in his room with Pikachu. It was dark. He peered to the sky, knowing that Team Rocket and the professors were out of harm's way, hoping that Max, Misty or Tracy wouldn't try to follow. Suddenly, he gripped his head like a massive headache. Was it the power again?

"Re-release!" As if on cue, a blackish being phased out of Ash. It was some sort of woman able to float in the air, covered head and long locks to toe in a black veil of energy. Ash collapsed onto his knee, reeling from the releasing of the being. Both turned to each other.

"_**Whew, I needed to step out for a second,"**_ the new being huffed. _**"It's not everyday that a **__**powerful demon puts me through the wringer. You okay, toots?"**_ Ash was awe-struck with who had emerged. This was who controlled Ash back at Chizeta?

"Who...are you? And why were you in me?" The being was a bit dumbfounded to seek a reply.

"_**What? No 'Thank you for aiding me in defeating that monstrous concoction and saving the girl of my fantasies'? Go right to questioning?"**_ Nice acting job. The being sighed, flustered with Ash's simplistic response. Ash was stunned to hear her think Hikaru was her choice to hang onto for life.

"What makes you think Hikaru is the one for me? What are you, a fortune teller?" A little on the awkward peering to be a fortune teller.

"_**That's what our other partner believed, not me. I'm Rion. Put 'er there!"**_ The being, Rion, held out her arm for a shake. Ash was a bit apprehensive about shaking a hand that was shrouded in black.

"Rion?"

"_**Rion. Noir, backwards, French for black."**_ Ah. That made a good amount of sense.

"Gotcha." Finally, he shook Rion's hand.

"_**I knew you'd be reasonable." **_So she thought.

"So, how did I acquire you, or you, me?" That was a good question, whichever way it translated.

"_**You probably don't remember this but does Mew Island ring a bell?"**_ Ash dove right into his memory bank. Something about Mew Island? That's when something did click.

"Yeah, I received an invite to try out against the toughest trainer in the world on that island. I didn't really go because I knew that I would need more training in order to face that guy." Rion scoffed a laugh, knowing something that Ash couldn't.

"_**Okay, but how about Mewtwo?"**_

"Mewtwo?" More digging. "Mount Quena, in the Johto region." Suddenly, he began to figure out Rion's motive. "Are you telling me that I met Mewtwo on Mew Island, even though I never made any attempt on the island?"

"_**You just about got it right. You see, you were given a second life because of the Pokémon after you were killed in the middle of the scuffle between Mew and Mewtwo. As you were being revived, I dug into your soul and remained dormant until just recently. Of course, I was kept in severe check because of Hiki, that stuck up goody two-shoes." **_Who's Hiki? And why was Rion flustered mentioning her name? That's when another shot of pain ached Ash in the head. This time, the pain wasn't as aggravating as before.

"Release!" Ash thought that this was the other one that resided in his head. Sure enough, a white being, looking almost exactly like Rion, began to beam from him. She faced Rion.

"_**Rion, must you torment this soul after all that he has displayed?"**_ she scorned. Was this Hiki?

"_**Hey, I'm just being realistic, Hiki," **_Rion huffed. **_"No need to go off on a fit. I was just meeting Ash for the first time. Greet him yourself."_** It would seem by Hiki's body language that Rion was not getting the big picture. Regardless, she faced Ash.

"_**So, you must be our vessel." **_Not sure if Ash was in any regard for being a vessel to two beings of opposite colors.

"So, how did you become a part of me, if you don't mind the question?" he asked politely. Hiki settled down to poise herself to her tale telling.

"_**You see, it happened back on Shamouti Island when Melody played Lugia's Lullaby after you acquired the three treasures from the adjacent islands. The lands and waters were being quelled from your selfless bravery, taming the beast of the sea. I sensed the purity from your heart and rested amongst you. I only came out when Rion's strength became a nuisance." **_Two powers acquired at different times. How about that?

"_**So now, you've got both sides of our stories," **_Rion snorted. **_"What more do you want?"_** Ash would answer to a way to keep both spirits in check. However...

"You to perish!" sounded...Alcyone? The three turned to the voice, eying Alcyone with her staff pointing right at them. "I will seek the passion of the Terror Gods. You shall not interfere." Icicles formed around her. Another onslaught was on the way. "Icicle Onslaught!" The icicles bared down at Ash when that punching bag stepped into the path.

"Wobbufett, Mirror Coat!" Jessie echoed from oncoming. Wobbufett started to glow brightly red. The icicles hit the living bag but bounced right back at Alcyone. Here came a taste of her own medicine. Alcyone got nailed hard with her own attack returned, nailing her to the floor.

"Great timing, you guys," Ash thanked as Team Rocket got to his side.

"Well, there was no way we'd leave Pikachu," Meowth meowed. Ash sighed, his warning having apparently no effect.

"And I thought I was the real stubborn one." James was a bit busy staring at the spirits who were with Ash to wonder what his partners were talking about. Alcyone rose to a knee, still stifled from the deflected attack.

"I won't be defeated so easily," she groaned. Ash and Team Rocket spun their heads to the ice queen. Jessie was looking for a bit of revenge after the first go-around.

"It's about time that I can get a free shot at you for what you did on our arrival," she scoffed. That's when Hiki realized a solution to this.

"_**Allow me,"**_ she offered as she phased into Alcyone's body. Quickly, Alcyone began to grasp her head from what potential pains rattled inside of her.

"Rion, what's Hiki doing?" Ash asked. Rion could answer Ash's question, but decided on letting Hiki's magic do the talking.

"_**Watch and learn," **_Rion pointed. The thrashing lasted for about a minute, when Alcyone ceased moving and Hiki phased back out.

"_**That was a touch more difficult than what I had anticipated,"**_ she huffed. Alcyone opened her eyes, totally bewildered with what was occurring.

"Where...where am I?" she moaned. Was Alcyone back to normal? She spotted Ash approaching her, seeing if she was in good condition. "It's you...the one with Hikaru." Her memory wasn't affected. That's a good sign.

"You gonna be alright, Alcyone?" Ash asked. The witch winced a bit. Pains from when she was tortured?

"I'll be fine. Just some rest." That was an impressive display by Hiki. Whatever she did seemed to have snapped Alcyone free from the Terror Gods' clutches.

"What did you do inside of her?" James asked what Ash had already. There was a need for an explanation.

"_**I had severed the bonds between Alcyone and the demons that were controlling her,"**_ Hiki clarified. **_"I knew that the hold these Terror Gods grasped onto her was strong, but to break the grapple, I had to exhaust some of my power. The negative to this is while I broke the bonds, any memory of the demons had been erased. It was the only way to free her."_** It was a sacrifice that had to be made.

"Let's get inside and talk with Clef," Ash suggested. Nothing better to do, everyone, including the spirits and Alcyone entered the towers. Meanwhile, Hikaru, free of her clothes from Chizeta and armor, laid on the bed thinking. Was it the Terror Gods? Her endangered friends, Umi and Fuu? Maybe Ash?

'Are we any closer to finding Umi and Fuu?' she minded. 'I know Ash is willing to go beyond his limits in order to stop the Terror Gods.' Without warning, her heart beat a bit hard. She grasped her chest, thinking that her heart would escape the confines of her ribcage. Her cheeks burning red, the pains of her heart seemed to be more than a bit physical. 'What is this-' She sat up, willing to walk somewhere to ease herself. 'Is it Ash? Why? He's from another world. He has to have a girlfriend. I love everyone in Cephiro so why do I have this...ache inside my heart?' She wanted to calm, thus exiting her room. During that time in the throne room, Clef was astounded with Alcyone's safe return, complimenting Team Rocket and Ash's sheer ability to control the powers that resided inside himself.

"It would appear that your conversant with the inhabitants inside you have come to a conclusion," Clef, who was without anyone in the throne room other than Alcyone, Jessie and Ash, addressed. Ash bowed to Clef's praise.

"Anything to help," he simplified. That's when Alcyone chose to voice up.

"Sire, many apologies to allowing the demons to possess me," she confessed. "I...was weak in heart." Clef understood what Alcyone sympathized. Jessie? More or less would nag about her misfortune.

'Yeah, but your mind needs the most work,' she mocked. Alcyone was under that spell.

"If there's anything I can do to reclaim my trust, please grant me any opportunity, sire." A beg for forgiveness. Clef had taken her blessing seriously.

"As of right now, all I'm asking is for you to get some rest," he planned. "Ash, Jessie, I suggest you to oblige as well. Falcon and Geo will take you and Hikaru to Autozam." The second Terror God to face would be Pteroblade. In a hint of mockery, Jessie rested her arms and leaned onto Ash's head, much to his chagrin.

"Don't worry your little horn," Jessie sneered. "We'll make sure the twerps are ready for the next demon." With that, she strolled out of the room, setting for the new trip. Alcyone and Clef wondered what that tone of Jessie's was all about. Ash was a bit appalled with her using his head as a body stool.

"Is she always that obnoxious?" Alcyone muttered. Ash fixed his hair from that moment.

"No, she's far worse," he mulled. That may have been from the history between the two who rarely work together. Ash headed into the nature room for some solo time. Was he still wired from the brawl with Alcyone? Was it the spirits who revealed themselves? 'I wonder why Hiki thinks Hikaru is a perfect match for me? I can't believe one of my inhabitants would try to play cupid, or Luvdisc.' Still in his deep thought, he pranced a few steps. "I mean, really. I have enough of an issue raising my Pokémon. I'm no Romeo." Suddenly, thinking about Hikaru caused Ash to believe that there may be something that Hiki saw with him and Hikaru. "Then again, Hikaru's not some kid who wants to be a powerful fighter. She's...caring. She cares for the people in Cephiro like I care for my Pokémon and my friends. I should be careful about what I say. Before I know it, we'll be fighting over something ridiculous like caring more for each other...but perhaps that might be the strength we share in order to defeat the other Terror Gods?" He was unaware that Hikaru was in the room, hearing every detail that he thought was okay to bellow out since he thought he was isolated from the rest.

"Now that would be ridiculous," she spoke out for attention. Ash turned, eying Hikaru approaching her. Right away, Ash became suspicious.

"Did Primera say that I was going through cardiac arrest, or Ascot releasing a creature who went berserk?" Hikaru giggled, knowing that Ash would be thinking about Primera's previous actions.

"Lantis has her caged up since Pikachu and Meowth told him about the last plot." To Ash, Hikaru came to see him on her own free will. "By the way, I heard that you've faced those that had been living inside of you."

"Yeah, they'll help when the time comes. Still, I did find Hiki's explanation a bit outrageous." Hikaru was wondering what that explanation was all about.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she believed that you and I were made for each other. Not Misty nor May, not even Bianca, Macy, Duplica...there's a mess of girls to choose from and she chose you." Hikaru chuckled, amused by Ash's tall tale...not so much tall.

"I think there's plenty of truth to it." Ash looked like he walked right into a trap, none of which Team Rocket would concoct.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. Probably after sleeping with you or maybe when you summoned the dark spirit to save me and the sisters. You did feel better after that." In admittance, Ash shyly nodded.

"Can't argue about that." Hikaru backtracked to the names Ash had mentioned. Did Ash really have a girlfriend before coming to Cephiro?

"By the way, those names you mentioned. Have you...dated any of them?" Ash was a bit flabbergasted with the question, but recovered to shake his head.

"Nah, I've been too busy with Pokémon training and dealing with Jessie and James to ever think about dating. Besides, the one who's been begging for a date is Brock." That seemed to have sealed it for Hikaru.

"I see." What she saw...only Primera would have coached. In a flash, Hikaru reached out, reeled Ash in and gave the somewhat lonesome trainer a grand dose of TLC. Ash was caught within the arms and lips of Hikaru, falling further and further to the gradual show of love. Two warriors showing the comfort of each other. Perhaps Hiki was right. Perhaps Hikaru was for Ash. Behind Ash was a sleeping bag. He wanted to sleep away from Team Rocket. The trip to Autozam was a rising sun away with Team Rocket joining the battle against Pteroblade. Can Ash and Hikaru cut the fury of the airborne demon? Will they be any closer to finding Umi and Fuu? Or will Team Rocket pull off a plan to take Pikachu and run? Let's hope the last question doesn't occur.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	8. Autozam, the Future to Betrayal

_Chapter 8: Autozam, the Future to Betrayal

* * *

_

_(Ash's nightmare)_

_Ash found himself in the darkened area once again. He knew that he was replaying the nightmare the morning he found the portal to Cephiro. He seemed to be waiting for those calls for help. "Okay, I seem to be back to this spot," he pictured. "All I need now is..." The calls for help?_

"_Get us outta here!" one female voice screamed out._

"_Please, free us!" the other female bellowed in panic. Sure enough, it was the same two from the first time. Right now, Ash had knowledge of who it may be._

"_Umi!" he called out. "Fuu! Can you hear me?" He hoped the names he learned would aid him. However..._

"_Can somebody hear us?!" the first voice continued to yell. Something was definitely wrong. Were they not the ones who Hikaru mentioned were missing?_

"_What's going on?" For some reason, nothing worked with the call and there was nothing for Ash to look because...well, there was still nothing to see. "It's gotta be them. Who else is it?" As if the dream wasn't awkward enough..._

_("Ash!") Pikachu called out. Ash turned to Pikachu, more confused than before as the girls were continuing to call for aid._

"_Pikachu? What happened to Team Rocket?" This dream wasn't making any more sense. Ash called the girls by their suspected names, but that wasn't working. Pikachu replaced Jessie and James as teammates. What next? How about a villainous laughter where the shrill of the cackling was too familiar. Ash and Pikachu twisted to see Jessie, floating in midair. She was coated in a purplish aura, her eyes glowing an eerie black._

"_Soon, Ash Ketchum," she sneered, her voice mixing with a darker but more masculine tone. "The Terror Gods will reign supreme in all worlds. You'll be the only witness as the dark seed inside of you will manifest and destroy your soul so that I will inherit the power to rule the universe." Ash couldn't make heads or tails of what Jessie was trying to say, thus shrugging toward Pikachu who mirrored that action. It was when he looked down to his friend, he noticed a pool of blood, the same amount as before._

"_Not again." Suddenly, something clicked in his head. "Hey, wait a second." What was it? "Jessie's up there. Before, she and James were lying dead." Pikachu knew the topic, meaning the dream before._

_("Yeah, explaining why you called their names and driving your head into Max's,") it backtracked. That was a headache and a half. Ash and Pikachu peered behind. That's when the real fear hit. There were a bunch of people on the ground. James, Clef, Sierra, Ascot, Lantis, Alcyone, Lafarga, Ferio, Caldina...Misty, Max, Oak, Birch? What the heck was going on? So many dead bodies... ("This...this can't be!") All of Ash's friends... He twisted back to Jessie, anger in his veins._

"_How could you!" His anger began to reveal Rion's aura, the darkness emitting from the body. How could Jessie be so backstabbing to her partner? Why would she kill everyone in such a fashion? Before Ash could act, Jessie waived...Ash's staff? From the ground, black tentacles shot out, tangling Ash and rendering him unable to escape. Yet he fought, trying all he could to break free. Pikachu leaped up with its Iron Tail ready to break Ash loose. Not gonna happen on Jessie's watch. A beam shot out, large enough to consume the mouse in one shot. Guess what? Not only was Pikachu hit, he was turned to dust._

"_Pikachu!!!" He cried, seeing his best friend get killed. Jessie wasn't done yet. She scooped the chin, pulling his face to her._

"_Now, my sweet," she wickedly smiled. "Let me claim the prize I desire." She leaned in, closing in on the lips. This couldn't be real. There's just no way.

* * *

_

_(Reality)_

Ash swung his head wildly, vainly shaking free of the nightmare that was wrecking his sleep. Before the moment Jessie would lay lips onto Ash, he snapped his eyes and lunged upward...or tried to. He could only shoot his head up a few inches, not when he zipped up to a seating position and smack Max's head. He looked around, seeing the grass and trees. He realized that he was in the nature room. Continuing his looking, he noticed an arm around his neck. So that's the reason he didn't shoot upward. He turned to Hikaru, clutching his head and shaking frantically, struggling in her nightmare. Ash caressed Hikaru by the ribs, advising her that he was right here with her. Hikaru slowed her struggle, loosening her grip to the head. She opened her eyes, spotting the raven-haired youngster whom she established feelings for. "Five more minutes," she groaned with a satisfied smile. Before Ash could ask why she wanted more time, Hikaru closed her eyes, reentering her dreamland. All Ash could do was shrug at the haplessness of getting to his feet and preparing for the second of four Terror Gods which inhabited Autozam, Pteroblade. An hour after both Ash and Hikaru were fully awake, they, Pikachu and Team Rocket stepped out of the towers, eying Falcon, president of Autozam, Geo and a younger male in so um green on his wardrobe, it's interesting that none of it bled onto his face. That has to be Zazu.

"Is everyone prepared for the trip to Autozam?" Falcon asked. Everyone acknowledged Falcon's asking. "Good. There won't be any pit stops along the way. The suspected Zazu hit a button on a controller at the ship waiting outside. A giant door had lowered like a draw bridge, a ramp forming for everyone to board. Unlike when Ash and Hikaru faced off against Ak-gholun, Team Rocket was heading to a different country. As the ship for Autozam lifted off, Ash was back with his mind on this developing dream. It was way different from before and even he couldn't make sense of it. What wasn't different was Ash being alone at the start and the girls still calling for help. What _was _different was Pikachu coming to him and not Team Rocket, Jessie acting in complete control of the darkness, there were more people scattered in the pool of blood and Jessie... Let's just leave it at that. At that moment, Meowth saw the flustered look on Ash's face.

"Let me guess, another nightmare?" he grumbled. Ash was hesitant to explain the details of this one, knowing full well that Jessie would ridicule him. Geo felt his hesitation, worried that anything he was hiding would come back to erupt in the worst way in a bad time later. Ash? He was trying to focus on the task at hand.

"Let's worry about the demon before ourselves, okay?" he requested. Geo didn't accept this act of denial.

"It is better to share the experience than to store it and have it be released at a later time," he advised. Hearing the tall Metro, Ash couldn't help but explain the dream.

"Well, I had it again, but it got really odd. I had dreamed that Jessie had slaughtered everyone but me. However, instead of wanting to kill me, she offered to make love and tried to kiss me, contradicting the fact that there was no way that we'd see eye to eye." That had Jessie to glare at Ash with a stunned gawk, not sure if what Ash pointed to may be the truth. Could the two be able to work together? Could Jessie see something that she would like from Ash? Could Ash seek Jessie for help?

"Perhaps you think that I'd eliminate James to hang out with a twerp about half my age?" Jessie doubted the trainer's words.

"Believe it or not, you even stopped calling me 'twerp,' and called me by my real name." Her and Hikaru's eyes were ready to leap out of their skulls from the extra detail. That was how much shock had gone through from Ash's tale.

"I think this would be one of those moments where finding out about one's experience is best left in the dark," Zazu gulped. Geo listened, going with Zazu's wording. The ship was fast approaching a futuristic town with all sorts of skyscrapers in an enormous semi-global glass dome. Falcon picked up a radio communicator from the front control panel and ready to address the situation, presumably to base.

"This is Condor to Base," he announced the ship's arrival. "Come in, Base." They waited for a reply. It wouldn't take long.

"This is Base, we read you loud and clear, Condor," a voice over the radio called back. "We're preparing the loading dock for you and your passengers. Do you have the Magical Knights?"

"Affirmative on one, Base. Prepare a status report on the situation with Pteroblade."

"Yes, sir." The ship, Condor, waited as a hanger door jarred open. That had to be the loading dock. The ship entered through the door, eventually stopping on a large circle. The rear staircase lowered, allowing the passengers to step off, greeted by many men in green uniforms of all different hair colors with similar military buzz-cuts as hairstyles. On sight of Falcon, they saluted him with a right hand over their foreheads, palms down, standing firmly straight up. Falcon saluted them as well, bringing his arm down to end the salute, which the others followed. The group made their way to large room, full of people of small computers. At the far side of the room was a large screen, a 3D view of Pteroblade being displayed. One more, wearing glasses and a beret, confronted Falcon.

"President Vision, welcome back," he greeted. A salute later, everyone was ready for commands.

"What's the status of Autozam, commander?" he questioned. The commander gritted, something disturbing him.

"About 20% of the country is destroyed since Pteroblade began it's rampage yesterday. He remained insisted on capturing the Magical Knights and when it realized that we needed more time, it snapped." Pteroblade got impatient. Ash was highly fascinated with what was here in the base. All those computers, the giant 100-by-80 inch screen...

"This reminds me of Prof. Oak's lab, twenty-fold," he exaggerated. That much, huh? The screen changed to the live action of Pteroblade flying over the enlarged city, a mass of charred buildings and burning cinders showing the path of the Terror God's wake. As if it was a battle cruiser, the airborne fiend lowered a hatch door, unveiling missiles that fired from the wings. The eruption of fire and smoke within the impacts of each missile testified the massive power inside the armored demon. Not one to take lightly. Ash and Hikaru felt the presence of power through the monitors, enough that shivers rattled their nerves.

"Is Pteroblade doing this...because of me?" Hikaru quivered. The Terror Gods were after all the Magical Knights, but destruction was extreme. Hikaru wanted to put a stop to Pteroblade before anymore lives were lost because of the demons' demands.

"We need to get to him and attack with everything we've got. That shell is not easily penetrable." While the group knew what their job was, there was a problem: how were they able to reach it? They can't wait for it to approach the base. Too much devastation.

"Do we know it's pattern of attack to engage battle?" Falcon wondered. While the monitor could display the areas already hit, there was doubt of a pattern existing from the defense board.

"Negative, sir," someone on the ground informed. "We do know it's at Sector 172B." What could be over there? To Pteroblade, it didn't matter where it was, all that mattered was destruction.

"Tell me that there's a way to reach it," James grunted, disproving the leverage of Pteroblade's actions. Someone knew a way.

"Follow me," Zazu spoke up as he walked to a doorway. The visitors gave one glance to each other then proceeded after the young one. All of them entered some sort of oversize garage where Zazu pulled out two vehicles. They appeared to be jet-skis. What for? "These sky-skis should get you anywhere within Autozam in no time." Okay...

"James and I can take those," Jessie called as she hopped onto one of the sky-skis. James hopped onto the other, only to notice something odd. James grabbed and twisted the right handlebar. That felt normal.

"I believe this is the accelerator," James figured. That's when he grabbed...and twisted the left handlebar. What's with that? If the right was for throttling up, then what about the left? He turned to Zazu for help. "Excuse me, but what's the left handle for?" Zazu scoffed a grin, knowing more than the unassuming Rocket.

"That's the levitate handle," he allowed. "Like the accelerator, the more you throttle that handle, the higher you go. Yank on the brake, you'll descend." Nice. Anyone wanna do high-risk tricks on one? After starting the engine, Jessie and James twisted the left handle, ascending upward.

"So cool..." Ash awed as the two yanked on the right, speeding to the danger zone. Zazu stepped out for a sec and came back, this time with...a silver surfboard? Not to correct the Autozam resident, but this wasn't a good time to hang-ten. Ash viewed the board as well, not sure he got what Zazu had. "Why are you giving me a surfboard?" There's got to be something not ordinary about it, right?

"Well, this sky-board behaves like a surfboard, whatever those are. You bend your body a direction, that's where the board will travel. I used it for deliveries before Eagle hired me and Geo for the Pillar System." It would act like a guidance missile. Once Zazu placed the sky-board on the ground, Ash stepped on, strapping the Velcro onto his ankle. When he stood up, the board began to lift. Whoa! He tried to steady the board, but that caused it to jerk and weave. When he stomped on the board, it stopped trying to toss Ash and floated still.

"There we go!" He unsheathed his staff, ready to join Team Rocket, Pikachu boarding the front. As Ash surfed off, all that was left was Hikaru.

"Okay, so what about me?" she wondered. Zazu couldn't have forgotten her, right?

"Fortunately, I do have something special," he promised as he jammed a red motorcycle helmet onto Hikaru. That's when he brought out...a jet-pack? Say that this was a joke. He attached a hose to the helmet and straps lassoed around her shoulder and stomach. "Now, you're in full control of my latest invention: the mental rockets." Mental rockets? Seriously? "Works really well in combat. Think where you wanna move, the rockets will cooperate. Took me several test runs to perfect the schematics." This could be more fun than realized.

"Thanks, Zazu." Using her thoughts, the rockets dashed her forward, joining those from the Pokémon World. They were outside, Pteroblade their target. Grabbing headphone communicators, a plan had to be assessed.

"Okay, team," Meowth, who remained in base that cowardly talking alley cat Pokémon, spoke on the intercoms. "We need to find some way to clip Pteroblade's wings and propel him from home base." Easier said than done.

"Are you saying you have a plan, Meowth?" James questioned through his mic.

"Believe us, the Autozam experts are shuffling through old files to see if by any chance there's a chink in that bird's armor and whether or not the demon story is a ruse, meaning that there are only three and not four with Pteroblade as a pawn for their schemes." This was news. Could Ash and Hikaru have been deceived by the representatives about the Terror Gods by the numbers? Regardless, one thing was for sure: Pteroblade needed to be stopped.

"Terror God or not, Autozam is in peril," Hikaru summarized. Truth refocused, the fliers found their target, winging over everything below. The four managed to reach Pteroblade. Battle time.

"James and I will circle around the bird for any opening," Jessie plotted. "You twerps attack when we find the weak spots." Sounded like a plan.

"Roger!" the rest agreed in unison. The Rockets began to circle Pteroblade in hopes to cripple. Hikaru drew out her blade. Pteroblade opened the hatches once more, firing off more missiles. Jessie and James freaked at the sight of the missiles, yet kept enough composure to maneuver their sky-skis to evade the explosives which hit the already combusted remains. Analysts, back with Falcon and Meowth in base, studied the missile count Pteroblade had fired.

"Six more missiles deployed," one woman replayed. "That's 72, so far." 72 missiles fired? That's a lot of boom in the suggested demon.

"Even that amount of missiles should weigh heavily on a battleship, yet Pteroblade flies with stride," Falcon surveyed. This may have put doubt to the curb that Pteroblade was a Terror God. Meowth determined that it's no wonder people were afraid of this iron bird.

"It's got infinite missiles?" he gulped. Falcon feared more than an endless barrage of missiles.

"There's more to the demon. We just need to figure a pattern." A tall task to contemplate.

"Let's see what this board's able to do," Ash focused vocally before racing in. Pteroblade began to circle back around, locating Ash and Hikaru on the attack. The eyes of Pteroblade began to glow red. Without warning, red beams shot out. As if he mastered the sky-board, Ash twisted his body and the board, bobbing, weaving, just dodging the new barrage. He was whipping the board around so fast, gravity never had a chance to pull Pikachu away. James was impressed with Ash's control of the airborne water-optioned surfboard.

"He's a fast learner," he awed. "I wouldn't have been able to get use to the board _that_ quickly." Ash managed to fly above Pteroblade.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Pikachu leaped off the board, sparks ready to fire on squeeze. Then, it fired that massive jolt of electricity, striking the demon in full. Pteroblade began to feel the voltage running through it's body. They were hurting the winged fiend. That's when the iron bird became red, reducing the pain of voltage. Pikachu stopped the shocking and Ash plucked him from midair. In base, Falcon and Meowth studied the data from Pikachu's overhead strike, watching a thermal screen diminish from red to blue.

"An insulation heating system," Falcon believed. This Terror God had all the works. "We need to heat Pteroblade once more, then follow it up with a douse of water." Someone took chemistry. He got onto the communicator. "Ash, have your mouse use another blast of electricity." As Ash listened, Meowth would grovel to oppose the president.

"Hold on," he growled. "We can't use an electric attack with water. I get that you know how to use heat and water on metal, but we can't have Pikachu firing off another Thunderbolt in the process." The fighters kept their ears on the debate, trying to wonder a new game plan.

"We need to trigger that thermal device," Hikaru realized. "But how?" The warriors were seemingly puzzled with this dilemma. Ash made an attempt, swooping down and ready to spear with the escudo point. Making his spear into a javelin, Ash extracted the escudo and flung the staff/spear downward. CLANK! The escudo pierced into Pteroblade, causing it to caw loudly in pain. It floundered a touch. Ash hopped onto the back of Pteroblade to get his spear, still holding the sky-board.

"Hope you don't mind," Ash scoffed. "I'm just picking this up." He grabbed the spear, starting to yank it out of Pteroblade's back. That's when Meowth noticed something back at base. The thermal insulation was heating back up. Ash had found a way to regenerate the system. That was good...and bad.

"Hey!" Meowth screeched. "Whoever is on Pteroblade, get off now!" Ash had to wonder why Meowth would bark at him about boarding Pteroblade. That's when he felt something warm. He scurried and hopped off the airborne fiend before his sneakers would've melted off. Jessie and James realized that Ash found a way for Pteroblade to keep warm. James got to Ash's side, a plan in the making.

"Twerp, I have a plan," he announced. "You're gonna need your Corphish or Glalie for this job." Ash gawked with what James may have been thinking.

"It's a little late for that," he admitted. "All I have is Pikachu. I gave my Pokémon to Prof. Oak." Real nice timing Ash. James slapped his forehead in frustration. That was blown.

"I've got your back, Ash," Hikaru proclaimed. "Keep in mind, I've got the Power of Selece." That's right, the Rune God of Water. On cue, the ornaments and helmet dyed colors from red to blue. They weren't dead in their tracks, yet.

"Okay. Pikachu can board Pteroblade and run around as much as possible to stir that heating system inside the Terror God. Hikaru, you got the rest?"

"Leave it to me." Ash got back over Pteroblade as it fired more missiles onto the buildings. Time for action.

"Okay, buddy. It's your show, now." Pikachu was raring to go. It leaped from the board again and was inching closer to the iron bird. Suddenly, out of nowhere or reason...

"You're mine!" Jessie hollered as she snagged Pikachu out of midair with a pink sleeve-like glove. Yikes! That was a dirty move.

"Jessie!" Ash screamed madly. He would be in a bind: help Pikachu from Jessie or help Hikaru with Pteroblade, if not for his quick impulse to go after Pikachu. He raced after Jessie, Hikaru being upset with Ash for abandoning her.

"Ash, get back here!" Hikaru called. No dice. Even Meowth was showing some disapproval with Jessie's action of taking Pikachu.

"Jessie, we're suppose to be helping the countries," he stormed. "Not-" Ignoring what her partner was telling her, Jessie tore off her communicator and threw it onto the rubble. There was still that staff wedged in Pteroblade. Duty calling, Hikaru hopped onto the iron bird. The bird started to warm up. Seeing the bird turning red, Hikaru had to act. She knew she switched to Selece.

"Water Dragon!" She flung her gloved arm forward, water dispersing from it. It splashed the red hot chassis. Steam billowed. Before long, cracks were showing up. Pteroblade had been crippled. Ash managed to reach Jessie with impressive acceleration.

"What's your problem, Jessie?!" Ash bellowed.

"Come on, twerp!" Jessie galled. "You should know Team Rocket won't rest until Pikachu's with our boss!" This was blatant selfishness on Jessie's part. Ash seethed at the retort, Rion's aura began to seep once more. Intentionally, he rammed Jessie in the quarter panel. The impact jarred Pikachu loose, right onto Ash's board, allowing the trainer to make a quick getaway. Pteroblade was trying to scorch Hikaru's legs, but when it heated itself up, flames ignited through the cracks. Heavy damage. Pteroblade fired a few more missiles, at the quick-approaching Ash. Ash showed why no missile could touch him. He evaded all of the shots. Jessie? Blinded by rage and desire...Lord, help her. One made contact, destroying her ride in an explosion. She went flying back to base as Ash ripped the staff from Pteroblade's back. Time to finish it off.

"Try and hit it!" Pikachu jumped off once more as Hikaru cleared from the area. Pikachu launched another Thunderbolt, this time through the cracks. Booms were blasting inside Pteroblade. Was this the end? KABOOM! Pteroblade disappeared in a massive explosion. The flames began to descend onto the streets below. When it landed in a metal-crunching thud, Pteroblade was black and out of commission. The battle in Autozam was over. Haechaen and Fang were the last two Terror Gods to battle. Landing on a skyscraper, Ash was ready to congratulate the team, minus Jessie, for a job well done. "Well, we're halfway done." Hikaru was not really in the mood for a praise. When she joined Ash...POW! She smashed a right hook into the jaw, knocking Ash into a loop. Ash was surprised. What brought her to thwack Ash upside the head in that manner? The dumbfounded one gawked his eyes at the steamed redhead, unappreciative of his actions.

"I can't believe you," she snarled. "We would have had time to chase Jessie after Pteroblade was done." She stomped off, still fuming at Ash. "Why did I allow myself to sleep with you?" You know when you pissed off a woman when she belts you in the face.

"Great work team," Falcon praised over the communicator. "Your actions have saved-" Ash wanted no word of Falcon, tearing his communicator and tossing it away. He had to be feeling defensive about Hikaru's allegations.

"I wanted Pikachu to be safe," he contended. To James, Ash may have been selfish himself. He stormed off, hoping to clarify his actions to Hikaru, leaving James with Pikachu.

"He thought he had done enough to help stop the bird, thus rescuing you," James figured. "If those two don't patch things up, Cephiro's done for." Not wanting to be left behind, the two chased after their teammates. With the actions in Autozam going to be reported, could there be severe consequences amongst Ash and Jessie? Would there be a way for Ash and Hikaru to trust each other again?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	9. Aftermath, Ash and Hikaru Breakup?

_Chapter Disclaimer: I do not own Linkin Park._

* * *

_Chapter 9: Aftermath, Ash and Hikaru Breakup?

* * *

_

Ak-gholun had been defeated. Pteroblade had been defeated. Haechaen was out there. Fang was out there. Chizeta was spared. Autozam had been spared. The team responsible for protecting Cephiro...in jeopardy of splitting up. No joke. Condor was escorting the visitors back to the mainland base. James and Meowth were on the bridge with the representatives from Autozam as Falcon was reporting the battle to Master Mage Clef via video feed on a monitor and other events from the engaged battle over the city against Pteroblade. It would sound that we've entered at the last moment of Falcon's report. "That is all I can report," he wrapped up. "I hope that you seek a perfect consequence for Jessie." Clef respected Falcon's wishes of giving punishment to Jessie for her act of backstabbing.

"Wait until I get my hands on you, you corrupt official!" Jessie, trapped inside a locker, roared in a furious manner.

"I respect your wishes to teach Jessie and Ash for their lapsing moments," Clef acknowledged. Yes, Jessie and Ash acted out of formation during the battle against Pteroblade. For those tuning in and passing the previous chapter, Ash, Pikachu, Hikaru and Team Rocket, minus Meowth who was watching the battle with Falcon at his base, battled Pteroblade. Ash was just about to finish Pteroblade with Pikachu's help. However, Jessie raced in, snatching Pikachu and prolonged the battle in Autozam. Ash had raced to Pikachu's aid, his care for Pokémon overriding his care for Hikaru. That left Hikaru to end Pteroblade's flight as Ash rescued Pikachu for the umpteenth time. While the battle in Autozam was over, the war over trust and compassion had begun. Hikaru was steamed at Ash for putting Pikachu ahead of her. It wouldn't be that big of a deal until you realized that the two had slept together the night before. If Primera saw the current status with the two, she'd panic for a solution. The Condor landed, allowing the few to file out. Zazu had gone to where Hikaru was resting for the trip back to the mainland. She was not in the best of moods, still upset at Ash for choosing Pikachu instead of her.

"Hikaru, we're back!" he tried to summon out. On her bed, she twisted her body away from the door, wanting some peace alone.

"Is Ash gone?" she grumbled.

"Yeah, he's with James and Meowth as they converse with Clef." She was frustrated. Doing her best to remain calm, Hikaru stepped out. Inside, Geo and Lantis did their best to keep Jessie in place: putting her in a medieval rack for prisoners. She struggled but the lock was on, no way for her to escape. Yet, she ranted and growled, barking for freedom. After what she did in Autozam, it's no surprise. In the throne room, Ash became apologetic to Clef for his actions with Caldina hanging around. Groveling, he knelt to a knee, pleading him for another shot.

"While I do respect the knowledge that you were defending your Pokémon, what you did was careless and irresponsible," Clef detailed. Ash knew to obey Clef. He did act irresponsible and careless when Pikachu was snatched by Jessie. James and Meowth were spared any punishment. They didn't go out of line.

"I'm sorry, Master Clef," he choked up. However, Clef saw the goodness in this misled desire.

"You did aid in the victory against Pteroblade and for that, I will award you another chance." This was good news, but Ash didn't lift any side of his lips. His mind was on Hikaru, who he thought he betrayed. Clef was giving him another shot, but would Hikaru?

"I wonder..." He turned back to Clef. A request? "Is it alright if I keep Pikachu here when Hikaru and I go to Fahren?" For safety reasons? Maybe he thought James and Meowth would act the same way Jessie did and try to snag Pikachu. Clef believed that with Pikachu in the towers and not in Fahren, he would concentrate more on supervising Hikaru. Yet getting Hikaru's trust was already a tough task. That shot to the face still stung him.

"You fail to realize that you're still overseeing Pikachu instead of Hikaru?" Clef thought Ash was still supporting Pikachu, not thinking for a second on Hikaru's feelings. Ash didn't look like he got Clef's understanding.

"What you need to do is try and talk to Hikaru, alright sugar?" Caldina advised. With Ash, easier said than done.

"Try and rest up for Aska and the dragon ship to take you to Fahren." Ash nodded, thinking that some rest could help him think better. James stood up, wanting to know if Jessie would get the same treatment as Ash as he got to his feet.

"Excuse me, Master Mage," he voiced. "What about Jessie? What are the chances that she gets a second chance?" Read Ash, Clef and Caldina's mugs. 8-ball says very unlikely.

"Highly doubtful," Ash clarified. "You saw what she did. She sabotaged the operation." Her own job clouded her judgment on the situation. The reason it didn't take long for Ash to regain Clef's trust was because he noticed his error. Jessie was uptight with what she did. James and Meowth surrendered. They were suppose to be a team and Jessie nearly destroyed them with her reckless and selfish act. Ash departed from the room, hoping to find Hikaru...and apologize for his act.

"Should we make sure he says the right words?" Meowth questioned. Not really.

"Ash has to look for the right words, himself," Caldina warned. "It won't be any good if he has backup." While Jessie may have taken Pikachu, Ash was guilty of abandoning the mission. Ash arrived at Hikaru's door, wondering if she was in, let alone ready to listen to him.

"Hikaru, are you available?" he asked as he knocked on the door. If she was...

"GO AWAY!" she screamed. Okay then. Not only was she there, she was still angry with him. Ash couldn't blame her for what she was feeling. He could be guilty of being reckless and focused on Pikachu.

"Hikaru, listen, I'm sorry about what I did. I won't let it happen again."

"GO A-WAY, ASH! Go back to Pallet Town where you belong!" Man, if she was this upset over a decision like that... She didn't take Ash's apology, in addition to tell him to return to the hole where he and Team Rocket came. Harsh. She probably needed more time to quell her anger. Respecting her first wish, Ash had walked away. He stepped outside the towers, severely thinking about what he did to really anger the redhead warrior. It didn't help that beforehand, they were snuggled under the same sleeping bag. Ash, leaving his adversaries and Pikachu, strolled toward the Forest of Silence.

* * *

**In this farewell...  
There's no blood, there's no alibi.  
'Cause I've drawn regret,  
From the truth of 1,000 lies.  
So let mercy come and wash away...**

**What I've done!  
I've faced myself,  
To cross out what I've become!  
Erase myself,  
And let go of what I've done!**

**Put to rest what you thought of me,  
Well, I clean this slate  
From the hands of uncertainty.  
So let mercy come and wash away...**

**What I've done!  
I've faced myself,  
To cross out what I've become!  
Erase myself,  
And let go of what I've done!**

**For what I've done,  
I'll start again, and whatever pain may come,  
Today this ends, I'm forgiving...**

**What I've done!  
I've faced myself,  
To cross out what I've become!  
Erase myself,  
And let go what I've done!**

**What I've done!**

**Forgiving what I've done!

* * *

**

As Ash started to wander throughout the forest, back at the towers, Pikachu and Mokona peddled around the halls, looking for Ash. They also came across Hikaru's room. Their immediate thoughts were that she knew where Ash had gone to. ("You think Hikaru had a chance to come to terms?") Pikachu guessed. Mokona pictured, getting a bad vibe from inside. Not a good sign.

("Not sounding like it,") the marshmallow studied. Though understanding Mokona, Pikachu chose to check personally. He knocked on the door. As if she believed Ash still hung around in a bizarre standoff, Hikaru became angered more, opening the door with enough force that could have torn the hinges from the frame.

"What part of 'go away' are-" she roared until she looked around. No Ash in sight. That's when she spotted the two furry friends. She turned from anger to stun. "Pikachu? Mokona, what are you two doing here?"

("We were wondering if you've seen Ash,") Pikachu squeaked. Mokona had the will to backup Pikachu. Hikaru grumbled at hearing Ash. She wanted to forget anything involving him.

"Look, what Ash did on Autozam I understand, but didn't like. Sure Jessie may have provoked Ash, but he could've helped finished first." She looked down the hall, her words of advice on Ash to return to Pallet Town being more or less coming to fact. "If he shows me that he can care for someone other than him or his Pokémon, I may reconsider." Be careful what you wish for. Back in the Forest of Silence, Ash found broken tree limbs. They were scattered in a few piles. That was where Ash, Team Rocket and the professors fell onto. He peered up, seeing a rope suspended in midair. That was where the gateway between here and Pallet Town was. He could climb the trees and reach the rope and get back to Pallet... but his spirits would object to going back home so soon, regardless of Hikaru's mad desire.

"Hikaru, what do I have to do to regain your trust?" he murmured to himself. As if an angel from above had actually heard the call of Ash, someone entered the scene.

"Who's Hikaru?" a young woman wondered. Misty? Nope. It was a ponytail brunette in a pink button-down shirt and beige skirt. Ash freaked.

"Mom! What the heck are you doing here?" This was embarrassing. For your own mother to come to an unfamiliar territory...

"Well, I heard that you had taken Team Rocket away from Prof. Oak's lab in a weird way, I had to come by and check things out. It's what any mother would do." _Any _mother would wait at home for her child. "By the way, where's Pikachu? He's not with you." Thanks for stating the obvious.

"Someone's watching him, right now. I was just out for a walk." He, too, was letting off some frustration. Suddenly, a scream echoed. For this place to be the Forest of Silence, it was getting pretty noisy. Ash and mother ran to the source of the yell. They arrived to find a very young redhead, eating dirt and staining her dress. She looked back, eying monsters about seven feet tall. The grotesque minions drove, getting closer to the downed child. Ash wasn't one who would stand back because he whipped out his staff. A maroon beast leaped at the girl. Ash leaped at the monster. This was going to be close. Ash lowered his staff, parallel to the ground. The monster opened its jaws, right where Ash's staff was. The monster got it's jaw locked and its mouth open as the staff entered the snout. Flipping, Ash rolled on top of the monster, gaining momentum. With one glorious yank, Ash tossed the monster into the others, bowling them over. "Steer-Ike!" Don't get too caught up in the excitement. The little girl got to a seat, watching Ash stand guard as the mother joined her. Ash would want to continued, willing to summon Rion to battle. Because they were in the Forest of Silence, he knew that borrowing Rion wasn't going to work. He needed to get out of there. "Let's book."

"Okay." The mother scooped the girl just as the monsters regained their feet. The mad chase was now on and that poor girl was along for the ride. The mother was wondering why they needed to retreat from the forest without knowing the true curse. "So, is there any reason we're running for our lives and why you're not using your Pokémon?"

"This Forest of Silence blocks the use of anything considered magical, including the Pokémon! Besides, they're with Prof. Oak!" It had taken a minute for them to return to the towers. Ash had refocused on the monsters fast coming. "Here we go!" With an inner focus, Rion and Hiki billowed out of Ash. He was quick with a strategy. "Hiki, protect my mom and the girl."

"_**Understood,"**_ Hiki complied as she floated over to the ladies.

"Ready to go, Rion?"

"_**Oh, yeah,"**_ Rion grinned. **_"These janitors are here and ready to mop this mess!"_** Rion reentered Ash's body, her aura emitting from the trainer. He was ready. A blue goblin-faced minion lunged. Ash smashed its face with the staff. Ouch... Grasping a dark fireball, he nailed the monster, engulfing it. As the monster roared in pain, Ash jabbed the staff onto it and used the leverage to sling it at the rest. On impact... BOOM! A small explosion. The minions were scorched...but survived. They got onto their feet, horse hooves, bird talons, you name them. _**"Tough bastards, aren't they?" **_They had no quit.

"Tell me about it." If Ash needed help, he was about to get it. Alcyone, Ascot and Lafarga filed out, coming to Ash's aid. The red monster was first, only to be met by Lafarga, carving the beast in half. One down. Ascot's turn.

"Beast, I summon thee!" he announced as two more minions sprinted toward them. A large circle of light emerged. Without hesitation, a giant lion/eagle hybrid exited the circle, shoulder tackling the fiends. "Griffore, crush them!" It listened and it smashed the two with overhand punches. Easy enough. Alcyone couldn't be left out, right?

"Icicle Onslaught!" she called. She was using those again? At least it was on the creatures, not Ash. The giant icicles pierced through the fiends. No way they were getting up. Five up, five down. Every...human was safe, at least.

"_**Man,"**_ Rion whined. **_"We didn't get one!"_** Another time, Rion. Hiki, proud to accomplish her mission, reinvested herself into Ash as Rion calmed down. As he sheathed his staff, he turned to the help.

"Thanks, guys," he praised. Hey, Alcyone did good.

"Sir Ash, what were you thinking?" Lafarga sneered. Oh, like it was Ash's fault that he had to tangle with forest dwellers?

"Before you start Lafarga, let me say that I was minding my own business when my mom happened to drop by. Anything else?" Alcyone and Ascot were somewhat stunned. Could this be what Hikaru wanted from Ash to make up for what happened in Autozam?

"Lafarga, Ash knew that it was a fight in the Forest of Silence that he couldn't win and had escorted the two females from harm," Alcyone explained. "Master Mage Clef had told me after Professors Oak and Birch visited. Trainers are not only known for their aid to the creatures of their land, they are strategists. Ash displayed not only selflessness, but intelligent fighting abilities." This was one truth that showed, regardless of Pokémon. The mother had released the child, standing up to meet everyone. Ascot was first, a little concern about the mother's condition.

"Are you okay, ma'am?" he asked. Of course, she's okay. She dusted herself of the dirt. She straightened out for greetings.

"I've hit more dirt when I was Ash's age," she defied. "I'm Delia, Ash's mother." The mother, Delia, and Ascot shook hands.

"I'm Ascot, a summoner in Cephiro." He twisted to the others who joined Ascot. "This is Sorceress Alcyone and Guardian Knight Lafarga. We're in charge of protecting Master Mage Clef alongside the Magic Knights." It was nice for the residence of Cephiro to meet others from beyond worlds. That's when the little girl tugged on Ash's sweat-tee. Feeling the firm tug, Ash's attention was turn to the kid...well, the smaller kid compared to Ash.

"Hey, what's up?" he wondered as he knelt to her level.

"Thank you for helping me from the monsters," she praised. How sweet of her. "Is Miss Hikaru inside?" Oh, boy. Taking this girl to Hikaru would result in some rather bad vibes. Yet maybe, if Ash brought her to Hikaru and told of how they met and how Ash was able to reach safety, she just might forgive him. It was worth a shot.

"Yeah, you wanna go see her?" The girl bobbed a yes. All smiles. This would be what Ash could wish for. "Okay, let's go." In some sort of bond, the girl got a chance to hold Ash's hand as they entered the tower once more. They arrived at Hikaru's room where the girl knocked on the door.

"Miss Hikaru?" Hikaru had to notice that it wasn't Ash. She opened the door, spotting the tyke right away, a smile brimming on her face.

"Mira!" she beamed as she knelt down and embraced the little Mira in a tight hug. 1...2...3...AW! "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you, Miss Hikaru. Have you found your friends yet?" Was she around when Hikaru rescued Ash?

"They're out there, somewhere. By the way, that was a bit silly to go through the Forest of Silence." From Hikaru's terms, Mira's home was directly across the forest from the towers.

"A brave boy and his mama got me here and beat up those monsters. We met on coincidence." Hikaru was a bit shocked. Ash went out of his way to save a young girl. When Mira said coincidence, it made Hikaru think that Ash acted in a sudden manner, protecting the kid. They looked to a side, eying Ash approaching them. There's a safe bet that Delia was with Clef at this point. It was about time Ash and Hikaru saw eye-to-eye since the battle. Ash got his apology ready.

"Hikaru, look," he gulped, trying to make sure his pride was in place. "I'm sorry about what happened in Autozam. I promise not-"

"Not another word, Ash," she murmured with a hand held out in front, palm facing Ash. Guess she wasn't about to forgive him for his actions. This was one more chance and he got rejected by the hand. "Look, I know that you want to apologize for what happened in Autozam." That's when she peered at an upset Mira, not understanding why Hikaru wasn't letting Ash speak his piece. "Well, to be frank, you did when you brought Mira here." Wait...Hikaru forgave him? Was this what he was looking for? "I'm...sorry I snapped at you. I know that Jessie provoked you into chasing her instead of Pteroblade when she nabbed Pikachu. While I didn't take that act too well, I did understand." Was this Hikaru giving Ash once more chance? He thought so.

"Hikaru, I won't make the same mistake like that again." Hikaru? Grinning like she was ready to save Cephiro.

"I'm counting on that promise." On that, they shook hands. Mira beamed a bright smile, happy to see the two get back to terms. So happy, she hugged Ash in the thighs. Ash couldn't help but smirk at the kid. For them to go to Fahren and tackle Haechaen, their teamwork needed to be up to date as Pikachu and Mokona arrived. It was a sweet moment. Same was absolutely not said about in the chambers where Jessie was still hunched down in that medieval rack. Yet, she continued to struggle to free herself.

"So, what's this about taking Pikachu from my son in the heat of battle?" Delia scowled as she entered the cemented brick room. She circled around to eye Jessie, none happy to see each other.

"Hey, I need Pikachu to get to the boss, alright mommy?" she scorned with a bit of mocking. "I don't care about what happens to the twerp." Oh really? He cared about you when the first nightmare rang up.

"Funny. I recall your motto being 'To prevent the world from devastation.' Sounds to me that you're doing the complete opposite." It did. In shear defiance, Jessie snorted her eyes away from Delia, unwilling to see the truth.

"So what if I am? It's my job as a Rocket to seek rare and valuable Pokémon, and that Pikachu fits the bill pretty well." Was that so? "I'd rather have him over a live volcano with his chestnuts roasting." Delia was pissed...yet she didn't rely on throwing a punch.

"Do it!" Do what?

("Okay, Mom!") Pikachu gleefully chirped. Knowing Pikachu, he's going to shock Jessie. It used Thunderbolt. Hitting Jessie with thousands of watts of electricity, Jessie was getting bolted heavily. You might want to save up on some of that electric juice. With Ash and Hikaru back on similar terms, this next battle was going to be intense.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED... (Have a Merry Christmas, everyone!)


	10. Fahren, and Grimm Reaper's Call?

_Chapter 10: Fahren, and Grimm Reaper's Call?

* * *

_

The morning rose upon Cephiro. However, there was something other than the sun that began to rise Ash, Pikachu, Hikaru, Mokona and Team Rocket, minus Jessie still locked up in the chamber. And what more intriguing place for the best alarm clock to be awakened than what Delia was doing in the kitchen. Let's see... scrambled eggs, smoked sausages, cooked bacon, fried tuna, flipped pancakes and French Toast, freshly squeezed orange juice, cold milk, brewed breakfast blend tea... Talk about feeding an army at the crack of dawn. Clef came into the kitchen, surprised to see, hear and smell the food so scrumptious that it nearly left him drooling. "I must say Delia, your hands of culinary arts would leave even the fearless of warriors surrendering to immediate hungers," he praised. Delia turned to Clef, not acting too eager to show her appreciation of his compliment but nonetheless smiled.

"Believe me, when Ash was a baby, there was nothing I could do to keep him away from the cupboards," she shyly confessed. "Only when I did start cooking solid foods at a later age, he eased down his attempts at the cabinets as he got eager to become a Pokémon trainer." To Ash's own mother, he was always hungry. It's a mystery why he wasn't fat or obese. High metabolism?

"This would explain why he can be so overactive at times." That actually may. Running around all the time would burn the calories off and make him look his best fit. Well, the aroma from the breakfast loomed into Hikaru's room where she and Sera slept, right into the redheads' noses. The scent itself was enough to stir the Magic Knight and the child from sleep. They sat up, still getting the smell of the delicacy.

""What's that smell?" Hikaru wondered. "Whatever it is, it's smells good." Sera would agree. They hopped off and exited the room where Ash and James were also exiting their rooms, intoxicated with the wonderful aroma, Ash acting more embarrassed with the actions of what it could be. It was a good thing that Ash and Hikaru were talking to each other once more since the battle in Autozam. When Ash rescued Sera from some minions in the Forest of Silence, Hikaru saw the goodness within Ash's heart and reformed their friendship. "What's going on?" Believing that his trust with Hikaru was still on some rocky terms, Ash had to allow an explanation to surface.

"It's my mom cooking breakfast for us," he sighed. Hikaru was a bit forgiving for Ash's frustrated anguish of his mother's taking to Cephiro. They had to make sure that they were geared for the upcoming battle with the third Terror God, Haechaen of Fahren. Someone was excited for Delia's food. Pikachu entered the kitchen, bypassing those still gawking. Delia saw Pikachu, smiling that he was up to join her before Ash, possibly to help.

"Good morning, Pikachu," she cooed. "You wanna help?"

("You bet, Mom,") Pikachu agreed. The rest watched as Mokona also entered the kitchen...and knowing what Mokona had in store, it's going to help Delia and further upset Ash.

"This may be one of those times that you should be helpful to your mom than stand here and feel embarrassed," James advised. Ash could argue but he was too flustered to do so. After helping and eating breakfast, Ash, Hikaru, James and the creatures were geared for Fahren. All that waited was the dragon ship and Lady Aska.

"Are you sure you want to do this, honey?" Delia worried. "I'm kinda fearful that I may lose you." Ash knew that his mother was obviously concerned about him, going into battle and knowing the chances that he may die out there.

"I told the professor that this was where I'm at my best," Ash reassured. "I'll be fine, mom. I just wanna make sure that Pikachu's safe as well with you." He still wanted Pikachu to be away from this battle in case Meowth or James would be like Jessie and go after the mouse.

"I'll take good care of it when you get back to Pallet Town." Although they understood Ash's ploy, James had to be thinking that he was just throwing his life away without a second thought.

"I should supervise this in case it gets outta hand," he offered. It would probably be a good idea. Soon enough, Aska's dragon ship descended to pick up the warriors. As soon as Ash, James and Hikaru boarded the ship, the vessel lifted off for Fahren. Inside the ship, a chorus of servants in red Chinese robes were there to greet Aska and the warriors.

"Welcome to the Dome!" they greeted in unison. In the back of the room were two males. One was a raven-haired young man, about Aska's young age while the other was a bearded old man, both wearing somewhat similar robes.

"Lady Aska, is this the Magical Knight that has remained?" the old man questioned. Hasn't he paid attention to the story so far? Probably his ears are in need of a checkup.

"This is Fuu's friend," Aska reassured. "And along with her is the robust Ash and the spineless boy." Spineless boy...good one, Aska. James fumed a bit of anger from that retort. "Ash, Hikaru, that is old man Chang Ang and childhood friend, Sanyun." A childhood friend would usually be a good thing to have. She sat on the throne in the back of the room, gazing upon the visitors to Fahren. "Listen up! I want teams of three to dress our visitors for when we arrive home!" Simple enough. Nine of the female-packed servants, three to each, gathered around Ash, Hikaru and James who hadn't let the whole "spineless boy" mock go. They were sent to fitting rooms as the Dome spotted their country closing in. After a few minutes, the three returned. Ash was dressed in a blue robe with a few Mandarin symbols on the left side...or Ash's right, pending on what angle you look at it. He also had white jumpsuit style pants and black slippers. James was donned in all black, head to toe. Black robe, black dome cap, black pants and black slippers like Ash. Hikaru was far different. She looked like someone from a Chinese restaurant. A red short-sleeve robe with a long skirt and red laced slippers was what Hikaru was gowned in. Even Ash couldn't help but gawk at how lovely she appeared.

"Well, at least it covers my midsection better than back in Chizeta," she sighed. "Hopefully, Disney won't be able to find Tanya and sue her for copyright infringement." While that was a pointless gesture, she gazed at Ash, trying as hard has he could to retain composure. James had to smack him in the back to cease his staring.

"Say something, twerp," he eased on him. "You're gonna freak her out." Ash peered at James, scratching the back of his neck in humored embarrassment.

"Sorry," he apologized. "She just looks...well..." He still couldn't come out and say how lovely she looked. Hikaru giggled at the stutter of Ash.

"I think I made an impression on Ash," she huffed while still giggling. James agreed wholeheartedly. Sanyun came to see the three, readying an announcement.

"Ash, Hikaru, James, we are landing in Fahren in one minute," he proclaimed. Ash turned to Sanyun, appreciating the word of their arrival.

"Thanks, Sanyun," he smiled. He closed his eyes, going into deep thought. He seemed to be planning the battle against Haechaen. When the Dome landed, the group walked off. The group traveled around a small village, trading goods for other useful items. Marketing?

""Fahren seems to be far more controlled and relaxed than Autozam," James figured. He acted as if this was a place of peace. That's when...

"Excuse me, sir," a male voice called out. James looked toward the call, eying a middle-aged man in a shady shack. "Perhaps I can interest you in a deal of stocks of Fahren's own enriched breads, most famous in trades to other countries in Cephiro." He brought forth a few large loaves of bread, twice as big as any you would find in a bakery while James got to the shack. James was rather impressed with how big and how fluffy the bread was.

"Now that's what bread should look like. I can tell that you don't skip out on the yeast." How much yeast was used in baking this bread?

"I see that you have good tastes in foods. Perhaps there may be something to trade for this value." This was one debate for James to decide.

"It's a good thing I didn't bring my bottle cap collection." Don't worry. Hikaru reached in and yanked James from the shack who hiccuped a yelp.

"We're on official business, James," she scorned. Aska watched on, sighing in relief for Hikaru's actions.

"And besides, anyone outside of Fahren who taste the food from here get easily nauseated," she thankfully warned. Strong foreign foods...yikes. They continued onward when Hiki sensed something disturbing in the air.

"_**Ash, I sense an evil in the presence,"**_ she muttered. Ash heard the light spirit, not talking about the dark spirit of Rion. He peered around, unable to spot anyone suspicious.

"Can you sense where it's coming from?" he wondered.

"_**Indeed. It's coming from upfront and to the right."**_ It just happened to be where Ash was looking. There, a wrinkled raven-haired goatee man in a green Chinese robe, much like Ash's new layers. His hair was short, almost sprayed on. That's who Hiki sensed. That man saw the group, sneering to them.

"So, you must be the bodyguard to the last Magical Knight," he said. The good guys, if James resigned from his position in Team Rocket, looked toward the man who called them out. "Fang will be pleased should I take Shidou back to our realm." This guy couldn't be the last Terror God, could it?

"Are you...Haechaen?" Ash questioned. The man snickered at the guess Ash coughed.

"Very insightful, young man. Lady Aska has matured enough to give out who I am." If that's Haechaen, someone had misled his appearance.

"You don't look anything like what Lady Aska and Master Mage Clef showed us," Hikaru doubted. Haechaen's image appeared to be a lion in black flames and with large teeth.

"I may not look like it now. Ever since I was freed, I've managed to blend with this crowd of Fahren, waiting for my chance to capture you, regardless of whether or not my allies have had their chance to strike." Haechaen pointed to Hikaru, wanting her. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll take the Magical Knight to her friends." Hikaru took a defensive stance. She was ready to fight.

"Where have you taken Umi and Fuu?" Haechaen wasn't amused with Hikaru's flaming desire to battle.

"You should watch where you direct your anger at, Hikaru. You don't want to hurt the innocent people around here, do you?" It was like a game to him. He knew that if they fought here, they could endanger the people of Fahren. But why did he care? He's a Terror God. Hikaru bit her lip, trying not to allow her anger to boil over.

"That's rather considerate of a demon to think highly of the people here," Ash huffed. Haechaen scoffed a chuckle, somewhat intimidated with Ash's wording.

"Consider me a morale Terror God." A demon that explains morals? "Come meet me on the Fahren Wall." That's when Haechaen was coated in a cloud of smoke which dissipated in a few seconds. He vanished. Terror God or magician?

"We should follow him," Aska plotted. The rest agreed as they made their way ahead to the destination: The Fahren Wall. Hikaru still wanted answers as they rendezvous with Haechaen.

"Alright, Haechaen, I'll ask once more," she growled. "Where are my friends?" As if to test her will to hold back, Haechaen walked over to the edge, teasing the situation.

"Do you believe peace is the best resolve to live by?" he asked. Hikaru steamed even more.

"Don't change the subject!" Nowhere close to phased, Haechaen maintained composure.

"I was merely speculating an opinion. Bodyguard, what say you? Peace, best resolve?" Ash had a second to think on his answer, but he got one for the demon.

"It actually depends on who you ask and what the situation is about," he calmly replied. "There are those who would seek peace with the aid of others while there are more who don't seem satisfied about peace whatsoever." Haechaen seemed fascinated with Ash's thoughtful response. Hikaru? Criticism.

"You just had to answer his question, didn't you?" she scorned. Ash began to walk toward Haechaen with a reason.

"Well, you see, I have no problem answering a question which has no factual right or wrong answer." More or less a state of opinion question. "It's just..." In a flash, he unsheathed his staff, swung...BOOM! Shafted upside the head. Think a hangover is a bad headache, try that. Haechaen was sent flying right into a tower wall, smashing body to harden clay. Nonchalantly, Ash hung and hooked his arms around his staff, playing it cool. "When your enemy asks about it, he's just looking for a weakness." The demon got to a seating position, Are fixing his jaw trying to get it in place.

"I did not anticipate you clobbering me with your staff. Now that you have tested my patience, you leave no choice." Haechaen was clouded in a veil of black fire. Before long, he transformed into the black fire lion. If you thought the 3-D image was impressive, the real deal was scary. Hikaru and Ash went into defensive mode. The Terror God lunged right at the two kids. Hikaru realized that she still had the power of Selece within her glove. Fire versus water...what do you think would win?

"Water Dragon!" She roared as water flew out of her glove. The water splashed on the demon with extreme force. Going by simple science, water extinguishes fire. However, that was not the case. For some odd reason, Haechaen's flames were burning brighter, not dimmer. Why did his flames not drown out? Haechaen began to laugh evilly while the redhead was dumbfounded.

"_**I do not blame you for your hypothesis, Magic Knight. Normally in your opinion, water is very strong against fire. But as you can see, I enjoy water. It's fuel to the flames!"**_ Talk about backfire. Haechaen Displayed his new power by blowing fire right back at the team. The kids dove away from the fire, thankfully unhurt. So now what? Fire wasn't working. Ash raced ahead, but quickly fell back when he saw more flames coming his way.

"So much for daily science," Ash huffed. "Now what?" Hikaru was puzzled. If water meant nothing to this demon... that's when Aska had an idea.

"Hikaru, like equals like," she snapped. Like equal like? What was she talking about? It had taken Hikaru a few good seconds to think, but that's when she realized that it was an old Chinese proverb. She called upon Rayearth, causing the jewel on her glove to turn red.

"Flame Arrow!" She threw a ball of fire at Haechaen as he spewed more fire. Both flames connected in the middle, but for some reason, Hikaru's flame began to vacuum Haechaen's fire.

"_**What the-" **_it shrieked. KABOOM! Hikaru's attack sent the demon flying back. Ash was astonished with what transpired.

"Timeout for a second," He pondered. "Water doesn't douse him so why did fire?" That was a good question.

"'Like equals like' is an old proverb in which you use an equivalent item on a problem," she theorized. "In this case, Haechaen was weak to the fire, even though he was a Terror God of Fire." That's when something else clicked in Ash's head.

"I get it. Use good fire on bad fire."

"Sorta." Of course, Ash had to pick on the impact of her Flame Arrow.

"Okay, but that hardly explains why your Flame Arrow was much stronger than before?" That even left Hikaru scratching her head.

"I...can't really explain it." Haechaen returned to his feet before charging in. Ash was anxious for a piece of the demon and wasn't standing back any longer. He bolted ahead, his eyes shining white. Hiki? Haechaen leaped into the air, going for Hikaru. More fire was spewed. Bad news. The group became engulfed in the black fire from Haechaen. When the Terror God planted its paws, something seemed amiss to him.

"_**What's going on?" **_it growled. **_"You should be nothing but charcoal now!"_** Before anything else was mentioned, the fire shifted from black...to normal red. That's when a hand protruded from the doming fire. It's Hikaru's gloved hand. The flames began to coat her arm as the dome collapsed.

"Thanks, Ash."

"Think nothing of it," Ash replied with a more harmonic but feminine voice. Definitely Hiki? Haechaen charged in once more. Once more because...

"One super-size Flame Arrow, coming right up!" She chucked the giant flaming spike, going right through Haechaen's snout. Talk about the worst time to open wide. Haechaen stopped, feeling the massive heartburn, literally. He let out a mighty roar, hoping to spit out the raging fire in his stomach. Aska noticed that it was ready to blow and more than just Hikaru's fire.

"Retreat!" she screamed. Everyone dashed in a hurry to escape the possible blast. They were safe because... KABOOM! Haechaen exploded. There was nothing left of the demon. James had one look back, eying nothing, not even a shed of fur. Haechaen was gone, Fang being the last one to deal with. Worse yet, with all of Cephiro's surrounding countries saved, there was no where to look for the last demon, Umi or Fuu.

"Ak-gholun, Pteroblade and Haechaen are gone," he reviewed. What could they do now?

"Well, since the three countries are going to be fine," Hikaru started. "The only reasonable choice would be returning to Master Mage Clef and see if he can find where my good friends are." Only reasonable sounded about right.

"Well, if that's the case," Ash added. "Let's get to the Dome and head back to the towers." Acknowledging the possibility of a weakened jamming state, the crew agreed to return to the mainland. An hour passed when the team was on board the Dome heading back home. With Fang hanging around the corner, Hikaru was still so focused on finding her friends. Were they still alive? That's when sirens blared in the Dome.

"What's going on?!" Aska began to shriek. Before anyone could shout a reply, the Dome started to shake, as if it was crumbling into pieces. Like an airborne earthquake, No one on the dragon ship could maintain their feet. Hikaru was down to a knee while in front of her, Ash was belly down.

"Ash!" Hikaru called as she reached for him. Could Ash get to her before something terrible were to befall the trainer? One huge thud sent a crack onto the hull and knocking Ash through it cleanly. "ASH!!!" Hikaru could only watch as the Pokémon-less Ash plummeted into a thick cloud of black. Hikaru seemed to have witnessed the death of the one who had aided her in this journey. "No..." But was Ash kaput? Inside the cloud, Ash was coming to after being knocked into a loop. Before he could say anything, he peered his surrounding. It was like in his dream...except that when he pinched himself, he felt it.

"Talk about bracing for the real thing," he gulped. "It's no nightmare this time. But then..." He may have been listening for the voices.

"_Help us!"_ one female voice screeched in fear.

"_Please, get us out of here!"_ the other female wished. It had to be Umi and Fuu. Ash had to be banking on the guess.

"Umi!" he yelled out. "Fuu! Can you hear me?" It's beginning to look like the second nightmare all over again...

"_W-Who's there?"_ the first voice replied. No frigging way... Ash had been able to establish contact to the missing girls. _"How do you know us?"_ Ash had to be feeling pretty proud of making the contact.

"I'm a friend of Hikaru. Anything else?" Good enough reason?

"_If you are a friend of Miss Hikaru, then you, kind sir, have been helping her with the Terror Gods that have ravaged the countries surrounding Cephiro, is that right?" _the second voice hypothesized. From her tone... Ash had a funny guess on who was who.

"I take it you are Fuu since you're sounding proper." The second voice giggled a bit. So that was Fuu, meaning the first voice was Umi. "Say, do you know where you are? Hikaru and I've been searching from Autozam and on." It was a shot longer than a Home Run into McCovey Cove.

"_Well, what we can see isn't anything on Cephiro and there's no Tokyo Tower out there," _Umi explained. _"There are some unique creatures roaming different forests, with some unfamiliar buildings. I'm sorry that I can't help you any more than that."_ To Ash, that was all the help he needed. He knew where those two were: the Pokémon world.

"That's alright, Umi. It helped a lot and don't worry-" he stopped himself when he noticed blood pouring passed him. That's quite a bit. He turned to...Team Rocket, face down in the pool. Ash was frozen in fear. He was experiencing his nightmare, first hand. "No..." Then he felt winds. He turned to glowing red eyes. Ash was helpless, unable to do anything. Proof: giant red spears were heading right toward him. Screwed over? Jessie, remarkably alive, twisted her body, throwing her ball which opened, releasing Wobbufett.

"Counter!" she commanded. Wobbufett began glowing red when the spears reached. They hit the punching bag Pokémon, only to be bounced back. Whether or not those spears made contact, Ash was sighing in relief as he turned to the blood-soaked Rockets. "Once again, twerp, you fell for one of Team Rocket's tricks. I can't believe you actually thought we were dead." He had that dream. You just helped rewrite it. That's when James pulled out a vest of blood packs, most of them slashed open.

"I could just imagine the Halloween pranks we could do with a few of these," James joked. All Ash could do was scoff a laugh.

"You guys are so evil," he chuckled. To think, Jessie and James weren't in mortal danger. They were just fine. "Just wait until the dry cleaners' bill gets to your mailbox." That was a lot of blood staining their uniforms as so. Suddenly, there was a roar from the distance. When they shot a look back, there was Alcyone and Lantis. What were they doing here?

"Ash, are you alright?" Lantis asked. Ash rose to his feet and bobbed a nod. Knowing that Ash and the Rockets were in good shape, Lantis swung back, eying the monster red eyes. More spears were shot out. Alcyone was waiting as she fired another round of her Icicle Onslaught. Each icicle struck and snuffed the spears. That's when glowing red claws charged in. "Death claws." Lantis and Alcyone swung, but the claws vanished in a snap before reappearing behind them. Alcyone lunged to Lantis.

"Watch out!" Alcyone shrieked as she covered the other raven-haired. It would be in vain. The claws turned into drills and skewered into both at the same time, through the chests. That had to sting. After the drill exited from both, Lantis and Alcyone hit the ground with a thud. Bet you that Team Rocket's regretting using those blood packs as vests. They got to both, James to Alcyone and Ash and Jessie to Lantis. "I...wasn't able...to protect...Lord Zagato's...kin!" The injury was too great and she stopped moving altogether. Alcyone was dead. Lantis was about to join her. The wounds continued to protrude blood at a significantly high rate. Yet, he had enough energy to gaze at Ash.

"Hang on, Lantis," he pleaded. "Hiki will tend to that wound." Lantis shook his head. It was like he accepted his fate.

"Ash, I want you to stop the last biggest threat to Cephiro or anywhere," he groaned weakly. "Take my sword. I will join my high priest bother in heaven and watch you slay the last Terror God." To Ash, this was unacceptable, even Jessie would side on that.

"Does it have to end like this?" she wondered. Lantis turned to Jessie...for the last time.

"Death can be unexpected most of the time. Yet as humans, no one is meant to live forever." Once more, he turned to Ash. "Ash, since the moment you stepped in the throne room with Pikachu..." He winced, knowing that his time was very short. "...I knew that you were the one who would set things straight. Princess Emeraude would have wanted you in her kingdom to protect and love without concern or consequence. And since Hikaru was supposed to be the next Pillar...she would have enjoyed your company as well. Goodbye..." Lantis closed his eyes...never to open again. Fang had slain two members of Cephiro. To Ash, he knew what to do. Team Rocket glanced to Ash, seeking their next move.

"If I may say so, Ash," Jessie opened, using Ash's name instead of "twerp." "We need to get back and talk to Clef." Ash would agree. He hoped Hikaru was safe as well. Ash picked up the sword and Alcyone's staff, ready to head out. He could be wondering how Jessie managed to worm her way from the holding block but that would be for another time. They ran off, escaping Fang's hidden clutch...and new information. Umi and Fuu somehow were in the Pokémon world. All that was needed was to let Clef and the rest know about the next move as the biggest brawl was moments away.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	11. Pallet Town, the Final Fight

_Chapter Disclaimer: I do not own Daughtry._

* * *

_Chapter 11: Pallet Town, the Final Fight

* * *

_

Hikaru had managed to return to the tower safely after a dark cloud attacked the Dome. Ash was ejected from the ship and had fallen into the cloud, certain that she witnessed a fatal plunge. She grieved for the fallen trainer, unaware that it wasn't going to be Ash who she had to grieve for. Clef was somewhere in the back, trying to see if the collapse of the Terror Gods, the demons who roamed around Cephiro, would help restore his attempts to locate Hikaru's friends, Umi and Fuu. Hikaru's heart ached. To see Ash fall and her helplessness to attempt a save... Clef returned, a frown of truth sporting his mug. "I'm sorry, Hikaru," he mulled. "Even with my abilities restored, there seems to be no trace of either Umi or Fuu." Hikaru's grit was mounting. She was barely able to hold her composure, but her anger to the matter at hand seeped through and through.

"First, Umi and Fuu," she seethed. "Now Ash. Who else do I have to lose before I lose my mind in grief?" She was about to find out since Ash, Jessie and James had arrived at the tower.

"Hikaru, we're all trying as hard as we can to find everyone, even Lantis and Alcyone," Ferio entrusted. He, nor anyone in the throne room were aware of Lantis and Alcyone dying last time. Tanya, Falcon and Aska bobbed nods, saying that they've put in their eyes as well.

"I know, I know. I just wish I knew what happened to them." Cue Ash. He opened the door, overhearing Hikaru's plea.

"Then it's a good thing I was able to talk to them," he announced, holding Alcyone's staff and Lantis' sword on his back. Team Rocket was behind him. Hikaru turned to Ash, happy to see him alive before she noticed the sword and staff as Ash approached the Master Mage. She feared something had to happen to those owners. It was a realization for Clef. "I'm sorry about Lantis and Alcyone. This is her staff." Clef was handed the staff, understanding what had to occur.

"I see," he muttered. "The brothers are reunited in heaven." He bowed, a prayer to the fallen. Hikaru teared up, saddened with the loss of Lantis, a far better person than his older brother, Zagato in her opinion. Clef halted his prayer and wondered what Ash meant by "talk to them." "So, you know where Umi and Fuu are?"

"Yes, sir. They're back in my world, along with Fang." The others in the room were shocked...other than Team Rocket. They were interested to know how Fang had the information to locate Ash's world. Hikaru had to avenge the deaths of her friends.

"I suspect that you want to lead the charge considering that it's your world that may be in danger." Ash nodded, knowing that lives up there may be at death's door. He turned to the uniformed duo.

"You two get that hot air balloon ready for launch. We'll join you ASAP." James was willing to comply. Not so much on Jessie's behalf.

"Hey, I'm better off not seeing Fang, especially if it's the last thing I do," she groaned. James had to say something to change Jessie's mind.

"Because if you don't, you'll be out of a job and you can't get another one at that, meaning no more food," he opinionated. They needed food. Jessie realized it, knowing much better.

"Point taken." They bolted out the door. Ash and Hikaru turned to Clef once more.

"Ash, for returning Alcyone's staff to us, we can allow her to rest in peace," he motioned. "We have appreciated your strenuous work. I'll give you a power boost. Do what you may to stop Fang from returning to Cephiro, less destroy your world." He forwarded his staff, a shine illuminating the orb and Ash. Ash felt a warmth, a power growing inside. After a minute, the glowing dimmed down. Ash felt restored. "Now, proceed and vanquish Fang." With one final nod, Ash and Hikaru raced out of the tower. The hot-air balloon was beginning to lift off making Ash and Hikaru jump into the basket.

"You just made it," Meowth cheered from inside the above basket. "Now, onto Pallet Town!" The balloon began to soar, flying above the Forest of Silence. One more battle was to come.

* * *

**(3...4...)**

**Take...Take your time;  
Smell the roses but steal the vines;  
Gonna wait...for the hands of time;  
To second guess...and change your mind;  
And shine!  
Here's your moment to shine!  
Shine!**

**Lay down my friend;  
Close your eyes;  
Breathe in and I'll take you;  
There and back again.**

**No more questions why;  
I'm not so surprised;  
While you have been there and back a-gain!**

**Replace...replace that light!  
It spoke to you and showed no signs;  
To be alive...so are you livin' or dead?  
You made a choice to hear your voice;  
Or hold on to what they said?  
Now shine!  
Here's your moment to shine!  
Shine!**

**Lay down my friend;  
Close your eyes;  
Breathe in and I'll take you;  
There and back again.**

**No more questions why;  
I'm not so surprised;  
While you have been there and back again!**

**Back again, back again!**

**Back again, back again!**

**Lay down my friend;  
Close your eyes;  
Breathe in and I'll take you;  
There and back again.**

**No more questions why;  
I'm not so surprised;  
While you have been there and back again.**

**Lay down my friend;  
Close your eyes;  
Breathe in and I'll take you;  
There and back again.**

**No more questions why;  
I'm not so surprised;  
While you have been there and back again!

* * *

**

The balloon managed to locate the rope suspended over the forest. Ash reached out of his basket and grasped the rope. "Got it!" he cheered. He held the rope taught. Meowth had an idea.

"Okay, twerps," it growled. "Hold the rope until we gets through that wall!" That shouldn't be a problem.

"And male twerp?" Jessie wanted to add, totally referring Ash as the twerp once more. "Don't start looking up my body, alright?" Really? There was a need to say that?

"There's a few worlds that need to be saved," Ash retorted. "I'd rather not be discussing dirty laundry!" Good point. Even James had to apply a few words on this short-lived subject.

"Since when did we last go to the cleaners for our uniforms?" he dumbly questioned. Jessie grumbled, willing to forgo the topic. She began the climb with Meowth and James in the rear. They seeped through the wall...back to Prof. Oak's lab, Misty, Max, Tracy, Delia, Oak, Birch and Pikachu awaiting Ash's return.

"Team Rocket!" Misty greeted them with anger. "Where's Ash?" Once James crossed, completing their passage, he held the rope in a gesture to reel Ash and Hikaru over.

"If you want to see the twerp again, help me!" Oak and Birch with Tracy and Misty came by to aid James. He jostled the rope to tell Ash and Hikaru that he...or they were ready to yank the two from Cephiro.

"Next stop: Prof. Oak's lab," he called. He tugged on the rope. Misty knew that Ash was ready, clueless about Hikaru. That's when a claw patted on Birch's back. He twisted to see a giant blue bear with squinted eyes. Oak had a strong feeling with the big fat bear's plan.

"I think Ash's Snorlax wants to do the pull," he calmly expressed the opinion. Going by the strength of the Snorlax, Birch, James, Tracy and Misty wisely backed away. Max stuck his head through the wall, willing to see if Ash would be able to hear him.

"Ash, your Snorlax will pull you back up!" he called down. Ash gulped, going by that bear's size. Hikaru had to wonder who Ash was calling.

"What's going on?" she wondered. Ash had to let her in on what the deal was.

"Hold on as tight as you can," he muttered. Hikaru complied, clutching onto Ash like a vice. Ash offered one gentle tug.

"Ash's ready," Misty noticed. "Do it!" Snorlax gave one mighty pull. Ash and Hikaru flew out of the basket and through the wall at immense speed, barreling into Snorlax's enormous gut. The big bear stood firm while its stomach cushioned the impact. Ash and Hikaru regained their footing as Max, Misty and Tracy got to see Hikaru for the first time.

"Thanks, Snorlax." Hikaru got a good look at the girth of the big bear Pokémon...while Misty made her approach.

"Looks like I'm not the only one sporting a ponytail." Hikaru turned to Misty, a question of wonder and intrigue on her face. "Though, the braids do provide an excellent kick." That was rather thoughtful.

"I have a hunch that you're a good friend to Ash," she guessed with a smile. Misty scoffed, amused with Hikaru's notice.

"Well, one of them. The name's Misty." Both girls shook hands, a good sign of friendship.

"Hikaru." As Tracy and Max greeted themselves to Hikaru, Ash, reunited with Pikachu, got to the professors, wanting to know if there has been any news report.

"Any updates?" he asked. Oak and Birch had to realize that he was talking about. He was thinking that there was news about Fang being on the loose. Oak turned on a TV. There was breaking news.

"We interrupt our broadcast of 'The Pichu Bros. Adventures' for this breaking news story," an anchorman appeared.

("No!") Pikachu whined. Everyone gazed at the screeching mouse. ("Not the Pichu Bros.! Any show but the Pichu Bros.!") Pikachu, they'll be back on. Be patient.

"We go to Debra Sands who's reporting live via chopper over the Seafoam Strait." The live footage turned to a large black beast strolling through the water. He was a big one, much bigger than any of the other Terror Gods. Crooked horns of a devil, claws for fingers and not fingernails, legs like a bull's hind legs, a face of a werewolf...scary as heck. Could that be...Fang?

"This is Debra Sands reporting as a behemoth of a creature is wading its way north toward the Kanto Region," Debra's voice explained. "Early confirmations detailed that this is not, I repeat not a Pokémon of any sort. However, that is all the information that I've been handed." For the reporter, she was shorthanded with the details. Same cannot be said for those in the lab.

"That has to be Fang," Hikaru figured. If that is Fang, where are her friends?

"From the news report," Delia reviewed. "That monster will be coming on shore within a half-hour and will continue north...through here." Pallet Town was a target?

"If that's true, what can we do?" Max startled. Jessie and James turned to Ash for an answer to that question, going by his battling track record.

"Well, twerp, the ball's in your court," Jessie pointed out. "You think you can pull at least one more miracle from your magical cap?" Ash continued to watch the breaking news, trying to get an idea on an approach. He did have this comeback in mind.

"Well, I don't know," he teased. "You guys feel like saving the world from devastation like your motto commands?" They didn't say that in their motto in the first chapter. Was it from earlier adventures?

"We changed that motto! You need to pay attention!" It was from sometime before.

"Regardless, knowing that Fang's here, he'll tell me where Umi and Fuu are," Hikaru gritted. "Let's meet him at the shore." Nods from Ash told him to sprint outside, eying a herd of brownish bulls with darker brown manes and three thin tails raced over to Ash's side.

"Tauros, over here!" he called out. The Tauros reached Ash and Hikaru where they hopped on, bareback style. They needed no saddle. "Tauros, to the Pallet Shoreline!" The moos were a sign of cooperation as the two teens held on tight. Make that four teens, one child and two Pokémon. Misty, Tracy, Max, Pikachu and Meowth had hopped onto a Tauros to join Ash and Hikaru, practically putting their lives in peril.

"Stop this crazy ride!" Meowth wailed in panic.

"Meowth, why join us?!" Max argued. They trudged through Pallet, southbound to the shoreline. As the herd eyed the shore, the humans looked toward the strait. There...Fang!

"He looks a lot scarier than any bug Pokémon I've seen!" Misty sensed. Right, a face that a mother would love? Nowhere close. The herd ceased and allowed the kids to leap off.

"Why are you guys here?" Hikaru worried. "You can't fight him!" Max became the voice of reason.

"We're here for Ash," he exclaimed. Tracy and Misty acknowledged Max's claim, sticking around to help Ash anyway possible. Ash would beg to differ.

"If I were you, I'd steer clear," he opposed. "You guys don't have a power I do." He had a point but had no immediate proof to show. Hikaru summoned her sword as her armor changed dramatically. It became an armored dress of a Valkyrie with the ruby brooch. There was also some headgear as she wore a crown-like circlet with a trident decoration in the front, the middle prong red with the outer prongs white. She wasn't done yet.

"Rayearth!" she summoned. A flash of light illuminated. When it dimmed, there was a huge robot standing toward the waters. The robot had a spartan-style helmet and had similar appearing armor as of Hikaru. It also had a huge shield for the right arm. What made this more interesting was that Hikaru vanished. The new mechanical bot gazed down the opponent, the last Terror God, Fang. Ash, Max, Misty, Tracy, Pikachu and Meowth were awe-struck with the new toy from Hikaru. "Alright, Fang. You and me!" Hikaru called from what sounded to be inside the mechanical.

"Wait," Tracy wondered. "She's...inside?" Ash had to help Hikaru, no matter what. Right now, even inside Rayearth, Hikaru had to know what Ash had planned. Without hesitation, Ash ran in front of Rayearth to get a better look at Fang.

"Hikaru Shidou, the last nuisance to ruling all the worlds that touch Cephiro," Fang noted. "You've come to slay me, but keep in mind, you're facing an immortal. I thank you for vanquishing the brethren of the Terror Gods, for the lone survivor would be granted immunity." That was trouble. Hikaru wanted the information of her friends.

"Tell me where my friends are!" she demanded. Fang smirked. A mock.

"Such spite. Just as I anticipated from the last key to galactic domination." Hikaru growled. She wouldn't have time to set herself as Fang shot beams from his eyes. Quickly, Hikaru lifted her right arm, her shield arm, forcing Rayearth to use the shield. A few blasts knocked Hikaru back a few yards.

"_**He's strong," **_Rayearth groaned. Hikaru realized it. Fang continued to wade through the water, giving Ash an idea.

"Pikachu, let's show what Pokémon do in this world!" he called for Pikachu. The mouse figured Ash's plan, leaping into the air and emitting enormous electricity onto the water. The electricity struck Fang, zapping the Terror God.

"That a boy, Ash!" Hikaru cheered. "Let me add to the fight! Ruby Lightning!" Rayearth fired red bolts of lightning, striking Fang who curled to try and fight the voltage. The curl exposed Hikaru to a shocking revelation. Tied to the horns...Umi and Fuu! She halted Rayearth's Ruby Lightning and stopping Pikachu's attack as well. Ash had to wonder why she started to hesitate.

"Hikaru, what's wrong?" Hikaru pointed to the horns, causing Rayearth to copy.

"Umi and Fuu are on top of Fang!" Ash looked up, eying the blue hair of Umi and Fuu's blond hair. This was a cowardly attempt by Fang. Ash suddenly had an idea. He remembered the sword Lantis gave him. He would be the one who can free the other girls. He retreated and jumped onto the back-swinging arm. Wasting no time, he climbed Rayearth's arm and onto the shoulder. Hikaru saw Ash on Rayearth, puzzled with his appearance.

"And the human Aipom scales another tower," Misty teased. The boys were wondering what Ash had pondered.

"You don't think he's going to free the two from Fang's horns, do you?" Max guessed.

"Well, if so, how does he think of reaching him when he's still waiting in the water?" Tracy pointed out. While they pondered, Team Rocket, back in their Meowth hot-air balloon, glided to the battlefield. They stayed back until they felt the needed to act. Ash, Hikaru and Rayearth eyed the horns, Ash plotted a way to save Umi and Fuu.

"Hikaru, Rayearth, see about locking arms with Fang," he instructed. "I'll board and free Fuu and Umi." Hikaru gasped, trying to ask why Ash would gamble a ploy like so.

"Are you crazy?!" she shrieked. Ash was gun-ho about his strategy.

"Trust me! I can save them and you can take Fang down!" Sound strategy, though simplistic. Hikaru still had doubts about it.

"You know I can't attack now, even if you were the only one on Fang!" She feared that Ash, Fuu and/or Umi would get hurt on top of Fang. Ash retained his confidence with his plan.

"It'll be okay! We'll bail before you and Rayearth lay out Fang!" It was an emotional standoff between the two heroes. So emotional, Hikaru began to cry.

"I...I can't do it! Ash, there's no way I can gamble with your life! I love you too much to allow you to act so reckless and perform such a job!" Ash was hit with Hikaru's reality. That slap when they first met. That moment with the tub. The stint with sleeping together a couple of times. The united battles with the Terror Gods. This whole time, Hikaru was growing more and more fond and now she removed the cap on the bottle and drained it onto Ash's mentality. Meantime, Tracy, Misty and Max were rather stunned with Hikaru's confession. Wow...

"I wonder what Ash did with Hikaru to force that out of her?" Tracy wondered. Misty and Max could have a guess on what it may have been.

"Not to get the wrong idea, but I think Ash may have gotten Hikaru pregnant," Misty wildly thought. Max and Tracy harshly glared at Misty who had apparently got the wrong idea.

"Pregnancy, Misty?"

"Seriously, what makes you think Ash would get her pregnant?" Max added to the doubts. Ash had a deep moment to configure her admittance, knowing how much she had to rely on him and vice versa. He needed trust. It had to be now.

"I'll be fine, Hikaru," he muttered. "This is what I'm best for: taking risks and thinking outside the box. I know it'll work." That's quite a feeling and comfort zone for Ash.

"Just lock arms..." Hikaru replayed Ash's words. "I can... We can do it." Rayearth began its charge. Fang swung but Rayearth was quick with evading the attacks. Finally, the hands were locked. Ash was ready to move. "I'm locked in! Go!" As if he had a skateboard, Ash slid down the metallic shell. He ollied onto the bladed fingers. Hikaru saw the X-Games-worthy stunt. "You ask me, he had to come from San Francisco. No way could he just pull off skateboard tricks without a skateboard." Ash boarded the rough skin and used the momentum from the ride down to scale Fang's arm. Fang spotted Ash on his blazing rise.

"An ace in the hole?" he recognized. "How amusing!" In one swift motion, Ash reached for his staff and swung, the escudo spear emerging from the swing. The blade split the eye open and Fang screeched in pain.

"Gimme a little privacy, will ya?" Ash shouted before resuming his climb. He reached the crown and horns where he saw Umi and Fuu, passed out. Hikaru viewed his successful climb and broke away from Fang. He reached for Lantis' sword when he noticed Team Rocket's balloon. He waived them to come by and help out.

"Hey, the twerp's signaling us over!" Meowth determined. "Let's get over there!" James opened the burner, allowing the balloon to fly toward Fang. Seeing them coming, Ash ran over to Fuu.

"Okay, Fuu. Let's get you and Umi down." He swung the sword, cutting the ropes which held Fuu who fell limply onto Ash. "Okay. I gotcha." Fuu started to come around, noticing that she was off of Fang's horn...and comfortably on Ash's shoulder.

"What's...going on?" she muttered. Ash let Fuu down easily as he got to Umi to chop those ropes. In a flash, the ropes were torn. Umi collapsed onto Ash in the same fashion, same result. Fuu regained her footing, joining their hero. That's when Umi got to look at Ash...with a unique guess.

"Lan...tis?" she groaned. No, he's dead. That's Ash.

"Sorry, Umi," he denied. "Long story." Fuu heard Ash's voice, recalling back to just moments ago.

"Wait, you're that voice from not too long ago," she remembered. Ash looked toward Rayearth, knowing that they needed to get off for Hikaru to fight Fang. So did Fuu and Umi...at least looking.

"Rayearth?" Umi gasped.

"Miss Hikaru!" Ash looked up once more, spotting Jessie.

"Fire the net!" Ash ordered. Jessie nodded before turning to Meowth.

"You heard the twerp!" she forwarded. "Launch the net!" Meowth grabbed a remote control and slammed a button down. The bottom of the basket opened where a cannon was lowered.

"It's kinda ironic that we're using the capture net to save and not steal," it meowed as he fired a rocket out of the cannon. The rocket dismantled into a large net which fell and wrapped around Fang's head. Needless to say, Fang was displeased.

"Such nuisances," he growled before taking a direct swipe on the balloon, shredding the fabric and clipping the burner. The net was ripped off the balloon before that blew into oblivion. Team Rocket? Same old, same old.

"I don't know what's worse," James whined. "Pikachu's Thunderbolts or Fang's anger slap?"

"Well, if we don't get anymore chances to get Pikachu, I hope for the worst for those twerps," Jessie scolded.

"Look at it this way," Meowth reconsidered. "We're not gonna see that Terror God again."

"Yeah, well..." There they go, off to the distance.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they screamed in unison. Bye! That plan backfired.

"Didn't count on that," Ash gulped. That's when he noticed that the Tauros haven't returned back home. He had another idea. It involved the water behind him. "Looks like we need to dive."

"Are you nuts?" Umi shrieked in concern. "We're pretty high up and who knows how shallow the water is." She had a point while Fang was finishing shaking off that sharp eye poke. That's when he saw his friends still loitering around. He pointed to Misty, who kept a close eye on the head. Ash forged his hands as wide hooks with one hand over the other, mirrored horizontally and acted a push. Tracy was trying to figure out what Ash was demonstrating.

"Misty, do you know what he's gesturing?" he asked. The way he formed his hands... It clicked into Misty's head.

"Water Gun!" she snapped an answer. "He wants me to use Garydos' Water Gun to cushion the fall!" She presented a red/white ball of her own. Ash bobbled his head, confirming his actions. "Go!" The ball popped open, unveiling a giant blue sea serpent with a wide mouth. Ash saw the creature, his plan in full motion.

"Umi, go!" he ordered. Umi had a running start before she leaped far out from Fang. She screamed at the top of her lungs, Hikaru's heart sinking on her belief of a suicide dive.

"Garydos, Water Gun!" Garydos fired streams of water, striking Umi and slowing her descent. One of the Tauros came forward, where Umi landed on her feet. Hikaru breathed a sigh of relief as Umi dismounted the Tauros.

"I get it," Hikaru summarized. "Knowing that his friends stuck around, he instructed Misty to use a controlled sea serpent to help get Umi and Fuu to the ground safely." As Umi got to Misty and the rest, Fuu raced out and leaped, though she didn't travel as far. Never fear, Garydos will aide. Garydos fired another Water Gun in which Fuu used as a slip 'n slide. She rode the top of the stream...and onto Garydos, riding its back. The tail slowed her down enough for her to safely dismount. Now it was Ash's turn. He took one step back, setting up for his jump. Too late! Fang recovered.

"Not so fast!" he growled as squiggling vines spurt up and wrapped around Ash's legs. Ash was trapped. Hikaru saw his plan botch.

"Ash!" She wanted to act, but didn't want to endanger Ash's life.

"_**Hikaru, we need to fight!" **_Rayearth advised. Hikaru gritted. She wanted to battle Fang, but didn't want to hurt Ash. She was in a bind. She had little choice. She clenched her teeth, hoping this plan would work but not liking the position she was placed.

"Flame Arrow!" She fired volleys of the fireballs, a great portion striking Fang. He stood tall, anticipating her to make a move. Ash was in trouble...until he rose his spear. One flame scorched it, just enough for the point to catch fire. He jammed the spear into the head, hoping that this would free him. Fang fought it valiantly, Ash needing his trump card. He began to glow black. Rion. But whatever force make him sink into the vessel more. Rion was hurting Ash.

"_**Allow me,"**_ Hiki offered. Ash was now glowing white. He pull the sword out and jabbed it into the skull. Nothing still! Then, a white beam was launched inside the Terror God, bouncing around like a pinball to bumpers. The beam found the brain, lighting it up with a blast. Fang felt that shot and started to crumble. He grasped his head in pain. With one push, Ash escaped Fang's 'fangs.' He was still perched on top of the demon. He waived Rayearth over, wanting him to attack.

"_**Ash has managed to free himself,"**_ he howled. Hikaru wanted to glee for that, making her move with a giant sword. Rayearth swung the sword, but Fang blocked it with those fingers of his. Suddenly, he got a chance and skewered those fingers into Rayearth. Hikaru was in sync with Rayearth, instantly feeling blades going into her stomach as if she took the blow. Ash had to think of something. He turned to the Tauros, hoping to get some sort of advantage.

"Tauros!" he yelled. "Take Down, altogether!" He began to sprint down, hoping to time it right so that Ash can re-board Rayearth and deliver a harsh message to Fang about messing around near home. The Tauros stampeded to Fang. This was going to be close. Unlike Rayearth, Fang had hairy arms, not allowing him to "skate" like before. He had to gallop down. He got to the fingers embedded inside Rayearth as the Tauros leaped. The Tauros rammed into Fang, a step faster then Ash. He went flipping when the fingers were knocked away from Rayearth. Although knocked high, Ash landed on the helmet. Safe. "Rayearth, you okay?"

"_**Worry less about thee. Fang is a powerful enemy." **_Umi and Fuu couldn't agree more.

"I'm afraid what Rayearth is saying is the truth," Fuu sided. "We could use Windam and Selece but we may be nowhere near the strength Fang is at." Talk about a big disadvantage.

"Hikaru is the strongest of us," Umi added. "She was given the opportunity to be the Pillar of Cephiro." Well that much was already known.

"Well, now she and Ash are battling as one unit," Tracy scoped. "That confession had boosted their morale and neither side is showing an inch of hesitation." Umi and Fuu twisted to Tracy, recalling who contacted them that short time ago. The voice was the same and now they got a name. Fang recovered and was back on his hooves.

"Rayearth, take me inside," Ash wanted.

"_**I cannot allow,"**_ Rayearth denied. **_"Only a Magical Knight may reside inside my vessel."_** You could bet Ash didn't really like that denial.

"Call it a hunch. I want to use the spirits to boost your power, along with the other Rune Gods." The other Rune Gods... He had to check in on Hikaru.

"_**Hikaru, can you invoke the other Rune Gods?"**_ She was still clutching her stomach from that attack. Yet, she listened.

"I can try," she winced. Rayearth could tell that she needed some help.

"_**Thou can heal with the spirit of light. Leap in front and thou shall take the rest."**_ Ash bobbed before he jumped once more. A beam from the front ruby tagged Ash and made him vanish...to behind Hikaru inside Rayearth. Hikaru was surprised to see Ash with her inside her Rune God.

"Ash!" He wrapped his arms around Hikaru, letting her know that he was with her. Rion phased out and dispelled her energy into Rayearth while Hikaru and Ash were coated in Hiki's light. Hikaru felt strength growing within her. Both stood, where Hikaru tried to summon the Rune Gods that belonged to her friends. Red aura swirled alongside Hiki's aura, then blue, then green. Before long, the glow bloomed to outside Rayearth. Even Fang had to shield his eyes. The light died down. One look...Rayearth had wings and a sword. Everyone on the ground was shocked.

"Combined Rayearth?!" Umi shrieked. "We haven't seen that since Princess Emeraude went berserk on us." Fang saw the wings. Taking to the air, weren't we?

"You want to play air games with me?" he snarled. "Then, let's go!" Fang flicked his shoulders, causing black bat wings to emerge. That's when both giants took to the sky. One sword versus many bladed fingers. Metal clashed. Five minutes worth of attacks, explosions and blood spilt, both sides were ready to end it all. "You'll never win, Magical Knight, even with your love along for the ride!" He raced in. Rayearth duplicated. "Face...your...demise!"

"We'll face it, alright!" Hikaru shouted.

"Not today!" Ash hollered. Both Rayearth and Fang flashed their blades which became on fire. They clashed...KABOOM! A mighty explosion filled the air, engulfing Rayearth and Fang. Those one the ground feared that Ash and Hikaru were destroyed.

"Ash!!!" Misty, Tracy, Max and Pikachu (if he could speak human as well as the Tauros) cried, hoping the end wasn't there.

"Hikaru!!!" Umi and Fuu shouted, promising that Hikaru would be fine...but that may not be the case.

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	12. Heart, Tell the Truth

_Chapter 12/Final: Heart, Tell the Truth

* * *

_

Fang had been destroyed. Ash and Hikaru were successful in stopping Fang from the havoc that could have spelled the end of Hikaru's old world, Ash's world and Cephiro. Misty and Umi leaped into the water, spotting Ash and Hikaru floating unconscious on the top of the water. "Hikaru!" Umi yelled out as she paddled with Misty in the water. For someone wearing boots, she was swimming pretty well. As the two were snatching the fallen from the water, Ash's mind had found himself in that oh so familiar area of darkness.

* * *

_(Ash's Dream)_

_That dark area once more. Ash could already feel the frustration mounting. "Don't tell me that our jobs are still going," he groaned. As he stared around, he located a shine. "What's that?" he walked over to the shine, eying a light switch in the "OFF" position with a note on the side._

_YOU CAN FINALLY FLIP THIS SWITCH_

_Somehow you have to feel like a sucker to be told to turn something on. "Alright, I give," he sighed as he flipped the switch. That's when a bright flash shined into Ash's eyes. He covered them in a snap. When the light dimmed enough, he uncovered those peepers. The area changed dramatically. It was no longer an area of black, but a plain of fresh grass and assortments of flowers. Was the vanquishing of Fang the reason? Ash was in shock, awe, disbelief and enjoyment all at the same time._

"_Ash!" a female called to him. Ash turned to the sound, seeing that same blond that appeared in the beginning...just before his unintentional headbutt to Max._

"_Princess Emeraude?" She nodded, confirming Ash's guess. She was in a shimmering white gown yet stood a foot shorter than Ash. Not the right expression of looking up._

"_Cephiro will now forever be in peace, all because of you and Hikaru." Ash acted humbled to get the princess's good appraisal. "Those who've died: Lantis, Alcyone, Presea, Eagle Vision, Zagato and the many affected during the straining battles...they can now rest in peace." That's good to know._

"_To be honest, your highness, I've just been doing what I always do." Ash was passing it off as everyday duties._

"_As true as it seems, you used the best of your abilities to vanquish the last threat to Cephiro. For that from beyond the heavenly gates, I am eternally grateful." That was sweet. That's when a tall raven-haired woman in a black robe confronted Ash, standing next to Emeraude. She also had angel wings. Right away, Ash had a quick guess._

"_Rion?" The new woman scoffed a laugh, amused at his guess._

"_Guess nothing gets pass you," she chuckled. "But yeah, it's me. It seems like I gotta go to the golden gates. It was a blast keeping you on your feet." That and a whole lot more. But if Rion's here, what about..?_

"_And Hiki?"_

"_The heavens have one last task before she is to ascend as well," Emeraude informed. "But only you can invoke that last task." Ash nodded to accepting whatever that would be._

"_Well, Ash, if I could stay alongside you," Rion teared. She realized it and wiped it away. "Excuse me. As I was saying, I would give you the confidence I had against the other trainers. But...the big man upstairs makes that final ruling." No power to overrule him. That sucks._

"_As I join Rion to the gates, you are free to resume your life. Please, as much as it aches me to say, be careful on your future and live life to the fullest." Ash lofted a chuckle, fascinated with the serene compliments._

"_You take care, your highness," he smiled as the two began their ascent. Watching them depart, Ash knew he had to get back to reality. He closed his eyes.._.

* * *

(Reality)

Ash began to open his eyes in front of Misty and Max, who began to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that he was alive. A good groan was enough to tell the two he was okay. "Ash, you alive!" Max cheered. Ash scoffed a giggle, but his body was nowhere close to okay. His clothes were charred and ripped from the blast. His arms were stained with blood and who knows how banged up he was on the inside. Well, there's one of satisfaction from it. Through a hole on the backside of his jeans, his underwear was spotless. He got to a seating position, yet his left arm was dead limp. He couldn't establish any feeling onto it.

"Don't move so much," a worried Misty warned. "You're badly injured!" Not that badly considering he sat up.

"I'll be fine," he lied. He was worried about someone else. He didn't really need to ask.

"Hikaru!" Umi hollered for the still down, maybe dead Hikaru. "Hikaru!" Fuu was right there, shaking her awake. No avail, but she persisted. "Please, Hikaru! We're here!"

"Please, Miss Hikaru!" Fuu politely but frustratingly called as well. "Open your eyes!" They remained closed, her whole body was stiff.

"Hikaru, don't go!" Ash, Misty, Tracy, Max, Pikachu and the Tauros watched on, helpless to do anything. Like reality striking the other two knights, Umi and Fuu began to surrender to the concept that Hikaru had passed away from the explosion. They began to cry in agony, loss of their great comrade too much to bare. Umi crumbled on top of Hikaru, emotionally in pain. Ash wanted to get over to Hikaru's side. That's when a familiar voice echoed into Ash's ear.

"_**Ash, allow me to heal your wounds,"**_ Hiki suggested. Yeah, those wounds might need some TLC. Ash could use some aid for the injuries, especially that arm that limply dangled.

"Sure, Hiki," he agreed...somewhat. "But not my wounds." He struggled to get to his feet, receiving massively sharp stings. His legs were mangled, causing him to fall on his knees.

"Ash, stop!" Max warned. "Your injuries!"

("You're only hurting yourself!") Pikachu advised. Ash knew that his friends were right and that he should take it easy. However, Ash had to know if Hikaru could be saved. He got to his feet again, despite how hurt those legs made him. He trudged to the knights, astounded at the mess he was in but able to reach. However, they believed that meeting Hikaru was a lost cause since they weren't able to alert her. Once more, the kneel down to see her.

'Hikaru,' he minded. 'I still remember when we first met. I still have that welt when you slapped me for being reckless. We became a team. We battled and won against all the Terror Gods, no matter the circumstances. There were times where you were always worried about what could happen and that your concern for others was great. Yet the more we worked together, I became you in that material. It's because of you that I was more vigilant in regard of my Pokémon. Now that Cephiro will be okay for the rest of eternity, you can live the life you want. Allow me to give you that motivation.' He lowered his head and kissed Hikaru on the lips as he was glowing white. Hikaru was starting to glow brightly as well. For a minute, everyone and everything eyed Ash and Hikaru lit up like a Christmas tree. Then, the glow dimmed. Ash broke from Hikaru, hoping Hiki could work her magic. For a moment, it seemed it was a pointless effort. Ash jerked his head away, figuring that his effort to save Hikaru was in vain. That's when Hikaru began to moan. She was alive! Umi and Fuu gasped, shocked that Hikaru was revived. Ash looked back in time to see Hikaru open her eyes, viewing him and her two other friends.

"Umi," she recognized in a weak groan. "Fuu. Ash." Umi dove on top of Hikaru, crying in happiness that she would be able to recognize her. Fuu wiped a tear from her face, also glad that Hikaru was alive.

"Hikaru!" Umi continued to cry. "You don't know how worried we were. We thought you died." Well technically, she did. Hiki just happened to bring you her back from there. The others were stunned that Ash was successful in reviving her.

"I'll be honest," Tracy started to understate. "I didn't know Ash had that in him to revive fallen people. He's certainly a miracle worker." No one would believe that, either. Hikaru reached up and snagged Ash's head, pulling him down gently. She embraced a hug onto the young man she fell in love with.

"I'm here," she whispered. "You can rest." Ash weakly nodded, blood draining steadily. "Thank you..." The group came to aid the two. Tracy wrapped and cleaned Ash of the blood that covered him. Very weak, Ash was helped onto a Tauros, a revitalized Hikaru holding on from behind. The group made it back home where Birch had a better first-aid kit. Fuu and Delia dressed the wound and hooked Ash's left arm in a splint which needed only half a day to recover. The feeling in his arm had recovered as well as his strength. During that time, Ash and Misty took the knights to see the Pokémon. Umi was like Misty, enjoying the water Pokémon, but none more than a small blue crocodile. Fuu had quite a time with the other Pokémon, even having a yellow owl hangout on her shoulder. You get the idea on who they liked? Hikaru hung around some of the shacks where she was feeding horses and unicorns with burning manes. As Ash came by the shacks, a small green dinosaur, about a foot taller than Ash with a leaf protruding on the head and green nubs around the neck, came by and playfully nuzzled him, making him laugh as well as Hikaru as soon as she glanced around. When night fell, talks of gossip strewn through the girls inside the Ketchum household. Ash, bandages still around his head and arm, and Pikachu stepped out onto the porch for some fresh air, like they haven't had enough today. It was quite an adventure for Ash, Pikachu and Hikaru.

"Say Pikachu," Ash smiled to the cloudless sky, crescent moon and shimmering stars all over. "Do you think we'll experience another adventure as big as what we had with Hikaru...and Team Rocket?" Yeah, let's not forget Jessie, James and Meowth.

("Who knows, Ash,") Pikachu squeaked. ("Maybe there will be more, maybe less.") Ash scoffed at the possibility of another big adventure in the future.

"Well if we do, I'll make sure to pack a few first-aid kits. Can't be too safe should some demon decide to cause chaos."

("Not a bad idea!") They shared a good laugh. Umi decided to step out, the crocodile in her arms.

"Well, it's about time I get some face time with you," she spoke up as she approached the railing. Ash twisted around to see the blue-haired female...and his little reptile.

"You and Totodile have gotten along pretty well," he noticed. Umi giggled but believed him.

"Well, you told me that he was always hyper. Maybe he just needed a woman's touch." Ash had to figure on that extent. That's when she leaned over the railing, gazing upon the stars. "Tomorrow, we can head back to Tokyo...back home and be with family once more." That would mean seeking Clef back in Cephiro. To Ash, he would be separated from Hikaru, hopefully not forever. He'd be also glad if Umi and Fuu would join in case Hikaru chose to return. That's when he remembered what occurred before the final battle.

"It's gonna be tough on you guys. You head back, pray for Alcyone and Lantis..." Umi understood what Ash meant. She had to have been told about how they were killed.

"At least High Priest Zagato is back with his brother, and I can somewhat imagine what's going on between the three of them in heaven. Alcyone taking it ahead and behind and she wouldn't mind it either way." Taking it ahead and behind? Anyone wanna take a gander at that? "Well, knowing that Cephiro is safe from any major calamity for the rest of eternity, all we can do is see what else needs to lie ahead." Now Ash had to bring up the offer.

"If it helps, you guys are always welcome to stop by."

"I know. I would like to see the Cerulean City Gym and see what Misty and her sisters have." Some food for thought. They chose to stop and head in for the night...the final night of remaining in the Pokémon world. The next day, the trainers, knights, professors and Max were in Oak's lab. They watched Tracy as he pulled out three heavy bags from a closet.

"Is it all right for me to ask if you were an adrenaline junkie when you were young?" he asked with a bit of shyness. Oak was handed one of the bags, pretty confident that these were bags with parachutes inside.

"Spring Break near the Ruins of Alph, man those were the days," Oak remembered his youth. The boys got a good chuckle from that confession.

"Yeah, but Ash has the testosterone and adrenaline to out-skill you if you were back in your prime," Misty teased. All but Ash and Hikaru laughed a storm.

"Come on, Misty," Ash whined, embarrassed from that confession. "Take it easy." He couldn't find a way to defend himself. Oak recovered and handed the chutes to Umi and Fuu. When Hikaru was offered, Hikaru turned it away. What's up with this? Everyone viewed Hikaru's refusal of a chute.

"Miss Hikaru?" Fuu wondered. A tear trickled Hikaru's face. This became serious.

"Where can I go if I do go back to Tokyo?" she whimpered. Obviously, she has family, right? "My mom, my dad, my brothers...Hikari, my dog..." Oh, dear. From this, she was saying that her family had been killed. No wonder she couldn't simply go back. She crumpled to her knees in regret and loss. The group realized that Hikaru had a seriously heavy burden on her. Hikaru was an orphan now.

"Poor kid," Ash downplayed. "No home, no family..." Ash came to Hikaru's side, understanding the heartache she was going through. His mind had gone into overdrive, trying to understand why she considered breaking into tears now since being so tough to begin with. "She was mustering up a relentless grit with vengeance on her mind because Fang had to be the one who wasted her family while she was returning from a destination, maybe school. She wanted revenge for her family and now that she made good, she's got nothing else to motivate her." Either that was such a long-winded piece of smarts that Ash came up with or something totally off the mark that made him look like an idiot. Whichever the case, Ash came to Hikaru's side. That's when Hikaru dove onto Ash, clutching onto him.

"Ash, please let me be by your side! Let me be by your side forever!" She wanted Ash and didn't want to let go. Ash returned the hug, allowing her to know that he was right there. No one would dispute this holding on.

"I'm here. Don't worry." That hold would last, and last and last...with an even longer kiss.

* * *

_(15 YEARS LATER)_

There was a large building in the outskirts of Pallet Town. There was a sign on the front by the front doors.

WELCOME TO THE BATTLE FRONTIER BATTLE SPACE, HOME OF FRONTIER BRAIN AND PRO EXTREME ATHLETE, ASH KETCHUM

Inside the building, a redhead girl was sleeping inside of a bedroom. A drawer had a picture of her with an even older Ash and Hikaru. There's a good possibility that she's the daughter of those two. In the living room, there were other photos like Ash holding a large crystal trophy and shaking a young blond female adult inside a stadium, Ash and Hikaru in wedding gowns, even Hikaru holding a newborn baby. In the kitchen, Hikaru and Ash were preparing breakfast with an orange mouse with a whip-like tail. Wait...where's Pikachu. Hikaru, wearing a red sweatshirt and jeans and only appearing about a few inches shorter than Ash, who wore a black shirt with scatters of stars as decal and jeans himself, got the table set for breakfast. "Raichu, you wanna go and see of Hannah is up?" Ash requested. Finally, a task for...Raichu? What happened to Pikachu?

("Okay, Ash,") it squeaked as it began to walk toward the stairwell. It entered the girl's room and hopped onto bed. ("Wake up, Birthday Girl!") Birthday girl? Well, she's Hannah, and it's her birthday. Hannah started to stir around, her eyes spotting Raichu.

"Good morning, Raichu," she greeted. "Is breakfast ready?"

("Just about. By the way, Happy Birthday, Hannah.") Hannah giggled, knowing what Raichu said.

"Why thank you!" Her eyes shifted to determination. "I can't believe I'm already ten years old! Time really flies when helping Dad with the battlefield." She helped her father with the Battle Space. Nice girl. She gowned herself in a black blouse under a blue open spring jacket. She slapped on some jeans and walked from her room to the kitchen. "Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad." Hikaru saw her daughter, brightened.

"Good morning, Hannah," she greeted. Ash would agree.

"There's the birthday girl!" Ash teased. "You're a whole decade old. How does it feel?" Hannah laughed sheepishly, almost embarrassed about turning ten.

"Trust me," she hiccuped. "It came so fast, I hadn't really planned too much for the future." Ash and Hikaru shared a laugh to ease Hannah's tension. "Oh, well. At least I'll try to beat you when the time comes, Dad."

"Is that so, Hannah?" Fire began to burn within both Hannah and Ash, daughter and father still eyeballing each other down.

"Alright, you two," Hikaru hollered with a few well sounded claps. Ash and Hannah stopped their staring contest to watch Hikaru. "Ash, don't intimidate our daughter like that. You're giving her bad advice." Guess there were some habits that died hard.

"Sorry, honey."

"And you, Hannah, don't get you father so riled up. He may be getting old, but he knows how to put you back in your place." Even worse when some of those habits are passed down to children.

"Okay, Mom," Hannah shyly muttered with her hand scratching the back of her head. After breakfast, Ash, Raichu and Hannah gathered in a large ballroom with a marked arena field. Above was a scatter of spheres like planets. Battle Space, huh? Fitting name. A cast of Pokémon were gathered to give Hannah the encouragement for a successful trip in being a great trainer, much like her dear old dad. Hikaru came in, bringing a backpack to Hannah.

"Here you go, Hannah." Hannah was astounded with the backpack and checked everything inside. Rope, bandages, clothing, berries...there was a lot inside the backpack for Hannah, even a couple of first-aid kits. Someone wanted Hannah to be safe. That's when Ash remembered something and dug into his pocket.

"There's something else I want you to have," he said as he pulled out a necklace with a safety pin. That pin had a few circles, one big gray circle being overlapped by three smaller violet circles.

"Dad, isn't this your Relic Badge?" she pondered.

"Yeah, it's also the badge you were after when you were just a tot." She had her mind on that badge when she was littler? Interesting that Ash would remember such detail. Hannah could recall those times now. "Now that you said your farewells to my Pokémon, are you ready to step out and get one of your own?" Hannah nodded. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Ash, Hannah and Hikaru were a bit stunned that someone decided to arrive at the Battle Space...this early in the morning.

"Who could that be?" Hikaru wondered. Ash opened the door when he walked to it. He saw something that almost made his heart skip a beat. There was a six-pack at the door and no folks, it ain't an order of Spotted Cow or Fat Tire. The six-pack can breathe. It was Umi, Fuu, Ascot, Ferio and two other kids who looked about a couple of years older than Hannah. One was a blond boy in glasses who wore a white dress shirt and brown dress pants. He did look like the intelligent type. The other was a light brunette girl in a blue fancy blouse and white skirt, trying to look like decent and well mannered. Ash could cackle at their arrival. "Come on in, guys." Umi, wearing a blue windbreaker with a red circle in a white rectangle fabric sewn onto the front of the jacket and the large letters "JPN" under "RYUUZAKI" on the back. Fuu was in a green business suit, pretty much everything else about her before remaining the same. Ferio was in a leather jacket and pants, looking like he's into motorcycles. Ascot, his mushroom cap still on him, didn't change so much. He did wear a white long-sleeve shirt and gray jeans. Hikaru was flabbergasted in seeing the new-looking group.

"Umi, Fuu," she chirped as she ran over to the girls and gave them a great big hug.

"Wow, Hikaru, I thought you'd change over the 15 years," Umi poked. Hikaru giggled, deserving that. The way they looked, it was like when they were schoolgirls back then. Ash felt guilty about allowing Hikaru to reunite with her fellow Magical Knights, but heck he didn't know about the knights visiting. The kids got to Ash's side, curious about their supposed mothers as well as each other.

"So, those two hugging my mom are your moms?" Hannah questioned. The other two nodded.

"Well, let us not forget the fathers," the boy pointed out. "I'm Hiroshi and she's Kata." So, Hiroshi was the son of Fuu and Kata was the daughter of Umi. "All that leaves it your identity." Hannah scoffed a chuckle.

"It's Hannah. I was just on my way to Professor Oak's lab." He's still alive after 15 years? Man, not even time slowed him down. "He's once my dad's rival and had taken over his grandpa's lab when his grandpa handed him the lab coat with Dawn. She's real passionate about the professor from my watching." Kata beamed a giggle, but turned to her mother, Umi, to see if she would like to join Hannah in getting her first Pokémon.

"Mom, is it alright if Hiroshi and I tag with Hannah to see the professor?" she requested. Umi saw nothing wrong with the three going to see someone with intelligence.

"Of course," Umi agreed. On that, the three kids raced off, seeing who would make it to Oak's lab first. Ash and Raichu watched on, seeing his offspring go off on an adventure that he lived in. That's when Umi noticed the Raichu with Ash and not Pikachu. "Ash, wasn't Pikachu suppose to be there?" Ash twisted to Umi, a smug look telling Umi that she was viewing the suspected missing Pokémon the whole time.

"It's him alright," he snickered. Hikaru made the point known about how Pikachu became the Raichu perched on Ash's shoulder.

"You see, Pikachu's electric sacs were getting terribly worn and that it wasn't able to emit electricity like it did when Ash and Pikachu first met," she started. "He challenged Cynthia a few times and she noticed that Pikachu's attacks were showing age and weakened over each battle. Cynthia noted the age of Pikachu and suspected that his sacs were shot. At that moment, Ash considered retiring Pikachu and have him as a house pet, but Pikachu was gun-ho in battling, the situation left Ash with two options: sac transplant or a Thunder stone. Ash knew that if Pikachu had that surgery, it would take a long time for Pikachu to reestablish control and strength of it's electricity and using the Thunder stone would be the shortcut but would make Pikachu's identity be lost. He had asked Pikachu for a choice. Because Pikachu believed he was as fast as he could ever be, he opted the Thunder stone and evolved to Raichu." Intriguing outcome. Pikachu chose the stone to get back into the game.

"My, it would seem that Sir Ash relies on his Pokémon more than himself when battle is not an issue," Fuu scoffed, still formally addressing Ash like she did those many years ago. "I might explain health issues with my students." The way she stated that, Fuu had to be a teacher. Then, what made Ferio?

"She's a teacher after graduating from Tokyo University while I'm a manager of a motorcycle corporation," he admitted. "While Ascot still monitors Cephiro without a job per say, Umi had been named the Olympic coach of the fencing team in Rio." Nice! Anyone wanna say spending time to dance the samba?

"By the way, Ash," Ascot voiced. "What happened to that strive for mastery?" Maybe he was resting his legs for when he battles the Pokémon Master.

"After seeing the world and knowing that there was a loved one back home," he began his guilt trip. "I felt as though walking the world was a lost cause and that I've seen all the Pokémon around. I then thought back to Scott's offer to open a gym or Frontier building and become a leader or brain so that I could meet younger trainers who want to challenge me. Besides, I have family to raise and Mom has never felt more happy for my choices since Hikaru had employed herself to work alongside in the nearby diner." He lost his adventurous spark, pretty much what killed his motivation to travel. It happens to the best of people.

"Then why is your sign also reading Pro Extreme Athlete?" Umi countered. Hikaru giggled, willing to explain that bit of detail.

"Umi, you're gonna love this," she sneered. "You know that battle against Fang?" Fuu and Umi nodded. "Well, sponsors had seen how he boarded down Rayearth. Ash picked up a skateboard and entered plenty of extreme competitions over the years, making millions. Yeah, he lost his desire to travel the world, but he did become quite an athlete." Who knew that Ash was skilled in something other than Pokémon training? Umi acted amused, almost to the point of wanting to take Ash for herself.

"Nice. I should bring you to San Francisco, California or Aspen, Colorado for the X Games. Sponsors would swarm your ass. I'm not kidding." No one said you were. Ash and Hikaru Ketchum, one a traveling Pokémon trainer, one a Magical Knight, both meeting in Cephiro by fate. Now, married, Ash waited those who sought to battle while Hikaru helped Ash's family with his mother's diner. Now, Hannah was the new Ketchum to battle the world. Could Hannah accomplish what her father failed to do? Only time will tell.

* * *

THE END


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